Heart of the Storm
by Izreina Maxwell
Summary: Five years ago, three pilots joined the Preventers: Tempest, Lightning, and Thunder.  With gundams of their own, and mental abilities right out of science fiction, The Storm has proven to be a mystery that even Heero couldn't solve, until now.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This is actually a full re-write of my first GW fan fic. Hope you enjoy it. Multi-parts. Enjoy. Constructive criticism welcome.

Heart of the Storm

Prologue

~_Flashback_~

"Mommy...?" The five-year-old boy rubbed his tired eyes as he was woken abruptly. He didn't get an answer as he was tugged out of the bed. He looked through chocolate bangs at the older ten-year-old girl pulling on his arm. "Neesan?" he asked, sleepily.

"Shh," she shushed him, placing her forefinger on her lips. She looked at the bedroom door as they both heard shouting coming from downstairs. She grabbed his slippers and roughly placed them on his feet. "We have to go," she whispered. "Now!" She tugged him on his feet and threw his jacket around his shoulders.

"Where? Why?" he asked in a whiny voice. He dragged his feet as he followed her to the bedroom door, which she cracked open just a bit, just to peek out and listen.

"Shush," she shot at him in a demanding tone, still quiet. She shut the door, quietly, and turned, grabbing his arm, loosely. "Know the big tree outside?" she asked in a whisper to him as she guided him over to the window. They weren't supposed to climb the big oak in the back yard that stood next to the house, but both of them did anyway.

He looked up at her and nodded. "Why are we going outside to play, now? It's still night time. I'm sleepy." She let go of his arm long enough to force open the window. It had a tendency to get stuck in wet weather. "And it's raining."

"Hush, Monkey," she whispered as she zipped up his jacket, sliding his hood over his head. "I'll explain later, just do what I tell you right now." The shouts were getting louder now, as she helped him out the window. "Hurry, now."

"That sounds like Daddy," he said, now in a whisper. "Why is Daddy here?" He grabbed hold of the tree, ignoring the rain coming down. He scrambled down through the limbs, occasionally looking up to make sure his big sister was following. It was hard enough with his slippers on, and the rain just made it even more difficult; but he was determined to do his best.

"I don't know," she answered. "And I don't want to, either. Now hurry." She sat on the window sill for a few more moments, making sure he made it down alright before she started out onto the limb. She turned her attention just briefly to the door as she heard the shouting approaching.

"Run, Monkey. Run!" she shouted it, now, down to him as she climbed out of the window. She looked over her shoulder as the door was thrown open.

A very large man stepped through the doorway, flipping the light on. He roughly shoved a smaller woman down to the floor as he scanned the room, eyes falling on the open window and the girl crawling out of it.

"Trinity!" shouted the woman as she reached to stop the man, who was now approaching the girl. "For God's sakes, run!" She wrapped both arms around the man's legs and held tightly. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold him, but she'd hoped she'd at least stall him, giving her daughter time to get away.

Trinity sat on the limb for a moment, looking into her mother's bruised face. It was apparent their fight had started long before Trinity had woken in the night. She looked up to the man, who was supposed to have been her father. He had kicked the woman in order to get his legs free and now had a gun trained on her. Trinity just watched his face. She saw no emotion, whatsoever in his eyes. She was sort of mesmerized at how calm he was while the woman on the floor cried and screamed at her to run.

Her trance was broken, finally, with the sound of the gunshot. It was enough to make her jump and lose her footing on the wet tree limb. She fell, bouncing off of several other smaller limbs on the trip down from the second story. She finally hit the muddy ground, unconscious.

Heero had just made it to the base of the tree when he heard his mother shouting. He stopped to look up, waiting for Trinity to follow. He thought about going back up, to get her when he heard the gunshot. It was so loud, he had to cover his ears, he closed his eyes too. He hated to think about what had happened up there. His eyes opened again when he heard the thump of her landing beside him.

"Neesan..?" He leaned over her, shaking her gently. "Wake up, please?" He looked back up at the window, looking the man right in the eye. It was enough to make him shudder. He hated the lifeless eyes of his father. You never knew what he was thinking, not until it was usually too late. He shook his head, shaking away all discomfort. He looked back down to Trinity and gave her another gentle shake. "I'm sorry." He turned and ran, giving not one look back. He knew neither Trinity nor their mother would have wanted him to be there when his father got down there.

~_End Flashback_~

Heero opened his eyes, staring out into space. Nightmares from the past were frequent these days. He had hardly given that night another thought for many, many years. But in the last five years, since the last real war, he thought about his lost sister nearly every time he closed his eyes.

Slowly but surely debris, from war after war, was being cleared away. Progress seemed to constantly slow because of other attacks, which of course left more debris for clean-up crews. Wing Zero floated along with recently scattered debris. The battle was quick, hardly a challenge as they rarely were at this point in time. The experienced soldiers had learned their lessons, leaving the fighting for those with blind ambitions, and little skill. And of course, it was the Gundams that were left to put them in their places, if only for a little while. It got annoying at times.

Not that he really minded; it kept him busy. But he couldn't be everywhere at once. And it seemed these guys were popping up like weeds. Five years ago, however, the Storm appeared. The Preventer Storm: Tempest, Lightning, and Thunder. And with them, they had three Gundams: Maelstrom, Illumination, and Thundershock. Not one of them knew where they came from, they just appeared. And there was only one person who knew who they were, the Lady. Heero had to admit defeat at not being able to find out. And it irked him to no end. Especially since that was when the nightmares first appeared.

He looked down to his consol as an alarm went off, signaling an approaching suit. He gave a small, rare smile. This was what he had been waiting on. He was going to find out who the Storm was one way or another. And it would begin by learning how they fight.

"You're late, Tempest," he said, watching the suit come to a stop in front of him. This was his first good look at the Maelstrom Gundam. He had Wing Zero scan the suit; he wanted to know exactly what made up that thing. All attempts, though, were being jammed, by Maelstrom.

There was no audio reply. True to the mystery surrounding the Storm, text appeared on the screen in front of him. ~ I knew you could handle it. I came to accept your challenge. I've been looking forward to the day we might meet. I'm certainly glad it's not against each other. ~

Heero sat back slightly as he read. "I'd rather be meeting face to face."

The text was slow in coming, that time. Heero sensed some hesitation in the reply, which ignored his comment, completely. ~ Let's get on with it, then. Show me what you've got. ~

The two Gundams went at each other in a grueling duel. While the strength of their sabers were almost the same, the power behind Maelstrom's attacks and the strength of its armor were significantly greater than that of Wing Zero. Heero knew in the first attack that he was defeated.

~ Mission failed, Major Yuy. But it was a good try. ~ The text appeared on the screen. Then, after a pause, there was an audio response as Maelstrom took off on a return trip to Earth. "Better luck next time, Monkey."

He gasped. "Trinity..."

* * *

><p>The Preventer Tempest ran a hand through her dark chocolate bangs in an attempt to push them away from her face as she stepped out of Maelstrom's cockpit. She completely skipped the ladder and jumped down to the ground, landing skillfully, on both feet. She stood and straightened her black Preventer jacket.<p>

The identities of the three Stormers, as they were informally called, were secret from the rest of Preventer Headquarters, even the Gundam pilots. But everyone knew of them. And while the normal Preventer uniform was a khaki-ish green-ish mess, the Storm's uniforms were all black, a thin red stripe running along the seams. Each one had also had a special emblem both stamped on their IDs and a patch sewn onto the right shoulder of their uniforms, identifying them as a Stormer.

She shot a glance to a nearby maintenance worker as her bangs fell right back into her face.

"Fluid levels are low. Take care of it pretty quickly?" Though she meant it as a request, it often came out as a command. Her tone was deep, as monotonous as Heero's, and always full of authority.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, immediately dropping whatever it was he was working on and climbed Maelstrom's ladder to get straight to work on it.

_Was that wise, Trin?_ She heard the voice in the back of her mind. It was the voice of one of her counterparts, the Preventer Lightning. There was another unique quality of the Storm. They were telepaths. They were in constant mental contact with one another. Their mental strength differed. Tempest's mind was capable of much more than just mental speech, though she'd never let anyone know of it, only Lightning and Thunder.

_To let Heero know about you, now?_ That was Thunder. The three of them were like sisters. They had been together for so many years; working together for so many years, to be apart was unthinkable, if it were ever possible. They were never alone because of the mental connections.

She shrugged her shoulders as she walked into the hallway, out of the restricted area of the hanger. _Probably not. But we'll all be revealing ourselves before long. It's time we stopped hiding from our brothers. We'll need them soon._

There was a pause, for a few moments, before a reply came from Lightning. _Are things advancing that quickly? I thought everything was under control._

It was Trinity that paused this time, carefully planning her words. _Everything __**was**__ under control, but Sarris is growing more suspicious. He's also got more experienced soldiers under his command than I originally thought. I can't keep the charade up much longer. If we want to put out this fire..._ She left the thought unfinished for a moment as she stopped walking and took a deep breath before continuing down the hallway.

_What are you going to do?_ asked Thunder.

_Desperate times are calling for desperate measures. _She paused a moment before one more reply as she blocked all incoming thoughts. _I'm going to see Heero… After a long talk with him, I'll be taking off again. Sarris is going to have to think I'm completely devoted to him._ There was another pause. _I'll be taking Maelstrom this time._


	2. Chapter 1

Heart of the Storm

Chapter One

"Major Yuy, you can't go in there! The Lady's in a meeting!" Une's secretary stood from her desk and hurried after Heero as he stormed past. The woman was a good foot and a half shorter than he was, but had never even flinched at one of his infamous glares. She came to a stop in front of Une's office door and placed a hand firmly on his chest.

"Major...," she started in a warning tone, but was stopped as Heero raised one finger. She looked up at him and saw something in his eyes that she couldn't ever remember seeing, emotion. To be more specific, it was a mix of concern, anxiety, and anger; or impatience, she couldn't be sure.

"Step aside, Geena. This is important." He stared down to her for a long moment before she finally nodded and took a few steps to the side, enough so that he could open the door. He slammed it shut behind him.

Une was in mid-sentence when she heard the door open. She took her reading glasses off and looked at Heero. One glance told her why he was there. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she set down her glasses, along with the papers she was reading from. This was NOT the best time for this.

Heero walked straight up to Une, ignoring Zechs Merquis, who was sitting in front of her desk. "When were you planning on telling me?" he asked. His voice was quiet yet his normal monotonous tone was somewhat shaky, emphasizing the mix of emotions he was feeling.

"Yuy, what the hell are you talking about?" Zechs asked as he stood and turned to stare him down.

Heero placed a hand on his chest, moving him to one side, ignoring him and stared the Lady in the eye, waited for an answer.

"Heero...," she started. She honestly didn't know how to put her answer. She tried her best to come up with a quick and satisfying reply, but couldn't.

Heero impatiently slammed a closed fist down on her desktop, hard enough to make both Une and Zechs jump. "When were you planning on telling me that the Preventer Tempest is my sister?"

* * *

><p>Quatre shuffled a few papers around on his desk, looking for his date book. Something very important was coming up and he couldn't quite remember what it was. So much was happening these days, he just couldn't keep up with everything. His date book was his entire life.<p>

He pressed a button on his desk, signaling his secretary. "Shannon, have you seen my date book?" he asked before receiving a reply, while continuing digging through various drawers. He didn't notice his office door open and someone walk inside.

"You should check your jacket pockets every once in a while," he heard from the woman now standing in front of his desk.

He nearly slipped out of his leather office chair as he jumped at the surprise. He didn't recognize the voice at first, but he finally pulled himself together enough to stand and look at the woman, who was almost a mirror image of himself. "Kalli…?" A broad smile spread across his face as he stepped, almost ran, around the desk, wrapping arms around her in a big hug. "Kalli Nicole Winner…," he whispered, eyes closed tightly. "I thought we had lost you," he said, smile remaining as he pulled away, holding her at arms' length. "Where have you been? What's happened? It's been..." He couldn't exactly remember HOW many years it had been since he'd seen his favorite sister.

The woman smiled, placing a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back. She tucked a lock of her long blonde hair behind her ear. "It's been a long time, I know, Quatre. And, believe me, I'm so sorry. But..., well, a lot has happened. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later. I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

Quatre tilted his head to one side a bit, giving her a concerned look. "Kalli?"

She frowned just slightly and took one of his hands in both of hers, then looked to the floor. "Quatre, there's just so much to tell you, so much that I HAVE to tell you. I don't know exactly where to start. All of it is so important."

Quatre gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. "As you said, Kal, we'll have plenty of time to talk later." He stepped away, pulling his hand out of her grip. He walked back to his office chair. He pulled his jacket off the back and checked both pockets, giving an "Ah-hah" while pulling out a small leather-bound book. He began flipping through the pages, looking for the day's date.

"Some of it can't wait..." Kalli slipped her hands into her pants' pockets, continuing to stare at the office floor.

"What do you mean? What's happened? Are you alright?" He set the date book down on his desk and walked around it, back to her.

"Well, no, not really. But..." She paused for a moment then looked him directly in the eye. "I suppose the best way to start is by telling you that, at work, I'm called Lightning."

"Lightning?" He blinked a few times, stunned, stepping back a little to lean against his desk as he suddenly realized the connection. "As in...?"

"The Preventer Storm." She nodded, looking back to the ground.

"And you...?"

"...pilot the Illumination Gundam, right." She nodded again.

"Is it true you guys are...?"

_Telepaths... yes._ He heard the reply in the back of his mind.

"How is that...?"

"Later, Quatre. That's an explanation that will take time and there are more important issues at hand."

"The Storm has always taken great care at hiding who you are. We've always respected that, at least... most of us. Why are you telling me now? This is the first time I've seen you in years, we thought we had lost you some time ago and... well, that kind of news is, well, a punch to the gut, to tell you the truth."

"I know it's sudden, Quatre, but... Well, we're not exactly sure what's happening with our current mission. Tempest has pretty much taken it over herself. She hasn't opened up to either of us exactly what's going on. We get the same updates that the Lady gets. The last bit of information we got from her is that we'll be needing to team up with you gundam pilots soon. Quatre... I am sorry to just dump all of this in your lap, but you're going to be involved soon enough, and I'd rather bring you the surprise myself than wait for you to hear it from the Lady in the presence of the other pilots."

He nodded. "I suppose you're right." He ran a hand through his hair as he stood and paced slowly around his office. "Does General Peacecraft know the three of you?"

Kalli nodded. "Yes. He and Noin trained the three of us as pilots. We were all under aliases at that time. Back then, one couldn't be too careful with names, especially mine." _'And it wasn't exactly by choice, either,'_ she added to herself, mentally. Quatre would find out, in due time, what had happened to his sister since they were parted. He just needed the Readers' Digest version, as it were, right now.

"You were with OZ?"

"For a time. We were supposed to have been the Romefeller Foundation's answer to Operation: Meteor. We went AWOL shortly after our training. After learning who the gundam pilots were, there was no way we would fight against our brothers. We kept in touch with Noin, though, just keeping up to speed on things, for a while, anyway. We eventually lost touch."

Quatre stopped his pacing and looked back over to his sister. "_Our_ brothers? You mean Thunder and Tempest are also sisters to one of us?"

Kalli slapped her forehead when she realized what she had said. "Shit…," she muttered. She hadn't meant to let it slip, but once it was out, she couldn't keep it from him. _'__What should I do, Iz?'_ she asked mentally, waiting from a reply from the third Stormer before she spoke to him again.

After a moment of silence, she nodded, slowly. "Two of you, actually. Tempest's name is Trinity. She's Heero Yuy's older sister."

"Heero's sister?" he asked, raising a brow. He couldn't say he was really surprised. His comrade had never opened up about his past, so it was unknown if he had other family. It was good to hear he had someone he could call family, other than the pilots. "And Thunder?"

Kalli slid her hands into her pants pockets and leaned against the desk. "She's not quite ready to reveal herself just yet. She's having trouble figuring out exactly what to tell her brother. As far as he knows, she's dead. All three of us were afraid to come to you guys, Tempest most of all. But, she's on her way to see Heero now."

* * *

><p>Heero stood, arms folded, facing Une as he continued to wait for an explanation. His cobalt blue eyes stared right into hers, intensely focused. He stood as if he and she were the only two people in the room. He wasn't even aware of Zechs' frozen stance and stunned silence.<p>

Une leaned against her desk, finding it hard to tear away from his gaze, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Heero… I…I'm not…," she stumbled over words, still attempting to find an answer. She knew telling him that she was sworn to secrecy wouldn't satisfy him. Something caught her eye behind him and she relaxed, sighing in relief.

"I'll take it from here, Lady," replied the woman that now stood behind Heero.

Heero blinked a few times before spinning around to stare into eyes that mirrored his own. It was rare that he was caught off guard, but he was so focused on Une he didn't hear her approach, or the door open for that matter.

"Trinity…," was all he said as he stared at the woman for what seemed like an eternity. It had been so long since he'd seen her, he'd almost forgotten how much like their mother she looked. He had almost forgotten WHAT their mother looked like, to begin with. Once again, he was alone in the office, this time with his sister. He didn't even hear when Une spoke to her.

Trinity looked past Heero a moment and gave Une a small, reassuring smile. She glanced briefly to Zechs. Heero noted a hint of something in her eyes as she looked at the general, he couldn't quite put his finger on what, though. She looked back to Une.

"My apologies, Lady Une, General Peacecraft, for interrupting your meeting." She looked back to her little brother and gave a nod in their direction.

He obediently turned and gave an apologetic bow of his head. "Please forgive me for the interruption," he said, before looking back to Trinity.

She nodded and took him, gently, by the arm and led him out of the office, almost as a mother would lead a child. And, he willingly followed, shutting the door behind him.

Zechs looked back to Une, who was putting her reading glasses back on. She shuffled through her papers, attempting to find where she had left off. She was intentionally avoiding his gaze.

"His sister?" he asked as he took the papers from her hand. He looked down to her as she reached for the papers. "Trinity is Heero Yuy's sister?"

She finally snatched the papers from his hand. "You've known her longer than I have, _General_, I thought you knew."

"You know damn well I didn't, otherwise you would be looking me straight in the eye." After not receiving a response, he shook his head, turned, and opened the door. "Can we continue this later?"

She nodded, turning away from him. "Yes, of course."

He stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him.


	3. Chapter 2

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Two

Trinity stared into the cup of black coffee that sat in front of her on the table. Hardly touched, it had gone cold long ago. Silence still remained between her and her younger brother. So many things were running through her mind and she didn't quite know how to voice any of them. She knew Heero had questions, she could see it in his eyes. If he could just ask one of them, she'd know where to start.

But Heero was so used to getting answers just by a look; he was unsure what to ask. He'd spent the several moments of silence narrowing it down to a few. Finally, he settled on one which should have been the first to come to mind.

"What happened to you after we were separated?" he finally asked, his normally monotonous voice softened.

Trinity sighed inwardly in relief. At last, a place to start. She took in a deep, hesitant breath before finally looking up to him, meeting the eyes that mirrored hers.

"The training that you started when he finally caught you a few days later, he started on me that night. I was older, and could handle some more… hands on training." She sat back and thought over a few things before continuing, intentionally skipping details.

"When we were reunited a few years later, it was for comparison. We had different training procedures, but the end result was the same. Then he sold us." She leaned forward again and rested her elbows on the table.

"You know that our …_father_… was only interested in the business of war. He wasn't interested in taking sides; he provided new weapons for whoever would pay him. You and I were successes at his latest achievement, at that time, the 'Perfect Soldiers'. Didn't you ever wonder why there were only two of us?"

He looked down to the table as he realized the answer. "One for each side. Equal weapons means a longer war. A longer war means more business."

She nodded as she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Dr. J had first choice because he offered the most money. You were still young and moldable. He had a chance to undo some of the training that was imposed on you." She took a cigarette from the pack and placed it between her lips as she searched other pockets for her lighter. "I was sent to Romeffeler. I was too old to learn any different. They only reinforced the training, anyway." She found the lighter and lit the cigarette, taking a few puffs to make sure it was lit before setting the lighter on top of the pack on the table.

"You shouldn't smoke," he said, looking back to her. "It's bad for your health."

She took another puff and inhaled deeply before answering. "So is war, but that hasn't stopped either of us. I have a better chance of dying on the battlefield than dying of lung cancer."

He nodded after a moment. "Point taken." He studied her for a moment before speaking again. "So, what happened when you were sent to Earth?"

She took another drag of the cigarette and looked down, dumping the ashes into her cold coffee. "Romefeller was more than pleased with their Perfect Soldier. They wanted more, but were unwilling to fork over neither the time nor the money to our father to train others. They had two prisoners, your age, whose spirits were already near broken, that I was instructed to train as I had been trained." Her eyes remained on the table top and she didn't continue for several minutes.

She looked back to him as she took another puff. "Instead of breaking them, they broke me, reminded me of feelings, emotions that I had forgotten. They became my friends, my family. I was still able to train them, but they weren't the soldiers Romefeller bargained for, and neither was I, anymore. But it was good enough. Word had reached them about Operation Meteor, and theory about the gundams. Oz had the best pilots on Earth and we were sent to them for training. It was hoped that the three of us would intercept the gundams in space."

"Obviously, that didn't happen." He leaned forward and just watched her, listening. He wanted to hear everything. It was quite clear she didn't want some points revealed, but he didn't fault her for it. Their past, especially under their 'father's' care, was very unpleasant, painful.

"Right. The gundams were launched much earlier than anticipated. Our training wasn't even near complete yet. Romefeller had Oz continue the training, even gave them more authority since they came to know more about the gundams than anyone on Earth. Zechs and his protégé, Lucrezia Noin, became very trustworthy associates, keeping us informed on everything. When names came across, we came to a decision. With Zechs' help, we were… conveniently misplaced. Noin kept us up to date as information came to her. Romefeller never found us."

She took a final puff of her cigarette before dunking the butt into her coffee cup. "After the installation of the Preventers, we stood nearby, to see how effective it would be, then we had Noin and Zechs introduce us to the Lady. We were still in hiding, so we joined under aliases, code names."

"Tempest, Lightning, and Thunder," he stated.

She nodded. "We are one entity, the Storm, three parts of a whole, exactly as we were intended to be. After some brush up training, it was apparent to Une that we were best suited as pilots, a sort of back-up for you and the other gundam pilots. Howard and I designed the suits, based upon our skills and the designs of all mobile suits, including the gundams, and even Epyon and Talgeese. Maelstrom, Thundershock, and Illumination were completed after only a year."

Heero sat back, folding his arms. "And the telepathy?"

She stood, picking up her coffee cup and carried it over to the sink, fishing out the cigarette butt and tossing it into the garbage as she passed on her way to the sink. "That's a story for another time. But the gist of it is that it also has to do with our 'father' and his business. There's much more damage that can be done by the mind, than any physical weapon in existence." She poured the cold, ash-filled coffee down the drain and set the cup the sink, drawing some water into it so it wouldn't stain.

He nodded, also standing, following with his empty cup. He wanted to press the issue, wanted to know everything, but he could see she didn't want to say anymore. "So… Lightning and Thunder?"

"I met them both as Kalinda Guro and Isabel Day. After we went into hiding, they revealed their true names. Kalinda Guro, Lightning, is Kalli Nicole Winner."

"Quatre's sister?"

She nodded, turning to him, leaning against the cabinet. "One hardly anyone knows about, including many of his other sisters. They're twins."

"And Thunder…?" he asked.

"…Is being stubborn," she added. "She's so scared to speak up that I'm about to speak up for her."

_Trinity…_, she heard in the back of her mind. _Please, don't._

She closed her eyes a moment. _Iz, we're running out of time. If you don't do this now, it'll be revealed at the briefing you and the boys will be having within the next few days. It's time._

She reopened her eyes and looked at Heero. "Isabel Day is Izreina. Her twin brother is Isaac. You know him as Duo Maxwell."

* * *

><p>Lucrezia Noin carried a stack of notes as she walked down the hallway to her office. She never went on missions anymore. Instead she was more of an assistant to Une. She helped train new Preventers, and briefed others on missions when Une couldn't be present. But for the most part, she played the role of a mother. She and Zechs had been married, and recently divorced, and had one daughter, just turning five years old.<p>

Ever since the girls, especially Trinity, came back into their lives, things hadn't been the same between them. She couldn't say she was surprised when their marriage came to an end. She had always known, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself differently, that he loved Trinity. Noin often wondered why, even though she counted Trinity a friend, she never thought she was really capable of an emotion as powerful as love.

Or was she? Wasn't it compassion for Izreina and Kalli that allowed her to break the ice surrounding her heart? The two of them had been so broken to the point they could have easily been trained in the fashion Trinity had been ordered to. But something apparently was still living in Trinity's heart. Zechs must have seen it from the beginning.

She sighed as she dropped the stack of papers down on top of her secretary's desk. "Please, have these typed up and sent to the Lady's office in the morning?" she stood at the door, hand on the door knob, looking to the teenage girl, Celeste, sitting behind the desk. Celeste was one of the two hundred cadets the Preventers had graduating this year. Noin was glad that the younger generation was still interested in keeping the peace. This was the largest graduating class in the Preventer's eight year history.

"Yes, Miss Noin," she nodded as she picked up the stack of papers and immediately began sorting them. "Oh, and General Peacecraft is in your office. He seemed kind of… distracted, very out of it… He didn't even say a word to me, just walked right on in." She looked up to Noin. "And before you ask… I believe he's been drinking, but not heavily. I caught a brief whiff as he passed. Do I need to buzz security?"

Noin looked at her office door a moment. She didn't hear things being thrown or broken so he wasn't flat out drunk. She looked back to her secretary and shook her head. "No, Celeste. I think it'll be okay."

She nodded and turned back to her work. "Yes, Miss Noin."

Noin took a hesitant breath before opening the door to her office. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She stood at the door a moment and watched her ex-husband as he stared out the window onto the yard below where some new recruits were doing some exercises.

"Did you know?" he asked, not looking at her. "Did you know that Trinity is Heero Yuy's sister?" He turned away from the window and walked over to her desk, sliding into her office chair. He folded his arms and stared up at her.

She returned his stare for a moment and walked towards him, holding her breath. She had hoped this conversation wouldn't be about Trinity, but if he was drinking, it could ONLY be about her. "I admit… I had suspicions. They look so much alike, it's really hard to dismiss." She sat on the edge of her desk, next to him, crossing one leg over the other. "With Kal and Iz being Quatre and Duo's twins, it wouldn't have been a far-fetched guess for Trin to be related to another pilot." She watched him in silence for several moments, noting he didn't respond. Even though she had never been sure of his feelings for her, at least he trusted her. She was a confidant, if nothing else.

"Where'd you get the booze?" she asked, sliding off the desk, a change in subject was in order. Besides, it was an issue that had to be addressed at some point. Zechs had been known as an alcoholic at one point in their past, but had been sober for many years. That is, until _she_ came back into their lives. Not only did he fall into old habits, but _everyone_ at Preventer HQ knew about it. Countless times, he had to be escorted back to his living quarters by security because of one altercation or another. Noin had wondered how long it would go before his job was at stake, if his health didn't fail first. But, knowing now that Trinity was Heero Yuy's sister, unless he took control of the problem, his job wouldn't be _his_ for much longer, not to mention what will happen to his health.

He waved off the inquiry, turning back to stare out the window. "I told you before, Noin… I've got this under control. I just had one drink to calm my mind." He looked up to her. "Une and I have already discussed this, if you're worried about my job."

"Zechs, I'm more worried about your health…"

"Well, don't be," he snapped at her. He took a deep breath and held it a moment before releasing slowly. "I'm fine… Noin… Really..." He stood and took a step towards her, placing his hands on her small shoulders. "I know you worry about me. And I know you're still angry with me about the divorce…"

Noin held a hand up to silence him. "Zechs… I'm not angry about the divorce, anymore. I understand why you wanted it. What I don't understand is why you won't tell her, knowing what your anxiety is doing to you. I told you long ago, and find myself constantly repeating, that I would always be by your side … but I'm not going to stand by and watch you destroy yourself _and_ your career, and neither would Trinity. When you feel the need for a drink… come talk to me… Or, better yet, go spend some time with Alyssa. She hardly knows you, Zechs. You're her father."

"I'm well aware of that, Noin." He looked away a moment, sighing heavily. He stared back down to her, a thin smile on his lips. "I promise I'll take care of myself. I can't promise too much when it comes to Alyssa, you know me and children, Noin… But I'll do my best."


	4. Chapter 3

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Three

Izreina sat at the dining table in the kitchen of the small apartment that served as the Stormers' office. It was private, separate from the rest of the administrative facilities of Preventer Headquarters. They called it 'Storm Haven'. Izreina practically lived there. It was somewhere she could be relaxed, peaceful and quiet, somewhere she didn't have to pretend to be someone else.

She knew she didn't want to, and hopefully, eventually she wouldn't _have_ to, continue this Preventer business for the rest of her life. And if she didn't plan now, by the time she wasn't needed anymore, she wouldn't have the skills necessary to do anything else.

Under her alias, Isabel Day, she had enrolled at a local community college. Administration knew, somewhat, of her double life and made exceptions to the rules regarding attendance.

She had every intention of leaving the name, Izreina Maxwell, behind when she finally retired. She had actually intended on leaving it in the past, entirely. But, her sisters in the Storm insisted on using that name. She could understand where they were coming from, but circumstances were different. She shared their hope of eventually being reunited with their brothers. She loved her brother more than anything in the universe. It was that love and hope that kept her alive through the war. But, to him, she was already dead, and had long since moved on with his life. She was afraid to destroy all of that, despite reassurances from her sisters.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. Trinity had sparked the flame, by telling her brother's best friend. She guessed it was now time to feed the fire. She ran a hand through her dark hair, which was nowhere near as long as her brothers, being kept trimmed just below her pierced ears.

_Trin…_, she started, hesitating. _Tell Heero to give Isaac… I mean Duo… the access code to Storm Haven… Send him here, but don't tell him anything. I'll have it figured out by the time he gets here… Hopefully…_

_Understood_, came the older Stormer's reply.

* * *

><p>Duo Maxwell strode quietly down the empty hallway. With one hand, he nervously fiddled with the end of his long braid. He stared at the piece of paper in his other hand which held a series of numbers written on it. It was the access code to Storm Haven, somewhere no one, not even General Peacecraft or the Lady had access to. The thought this was a prank had crossed his mind a dozen times, but he really didn't think Heero was that type of guy. Still, his long-time buddy didn't tell him what this was about, just that the Preventer Thunder had sent for him.<p>

He finally stopped at the door at the end of the eternally long hallway. He eyed the keypad to the right of the door for a long time before taking a deep breath and tossed his braid over his shoulder. He read the numbers aloud to himself as he typed them into the keypad.

"_Identification – rank and name,"_ replied a digital voice.

"Major Duo Maxwell," he answered as the computer prompted a second time.

"_Voice identification recognized,"_ said the computer after a moment. _"Maxwell. Duo. Major. Pilot zero-two. Deathscythe Gundam. Access denied."_

Before Duo could respond, he heard angry shouts coming from the other side of the door. "No, no, you goddamned computer! I told you to grant him access!" There was, then, a loud thud from the other side, and the wall shook as if something heavy had been thrown against it. The keypad gave off a few sparks, forcing Duo to take a few steps back.

After a long moment of silence and sparking, the digital voice replied. _"My mistake… Access granted to Major Maxwell…apologies…"_

Duo raised a brow as he stepped back to the door, reaching for the knob after hearing the 'click' of the lock being released. He swore to himself as he turned the knob. _What in the world am I getting myself into?_ He began to walk in but stopped, dead in his tracks, staring into a face that mirrored his. In fact, he could have sworn he was looking at his own reflection were it not for the black of the Stormer uniform and the short cut of his mirror's brown hair.

"My God," he whispered. "…Izreina…?" He thought for several moments that his friend really was playing a cruel trick. His sister was dead. He saw her lifeless form for himself. But, he'd never told anyone, not even Heero, that he had a sister. This had to be some sort of trick. And yet, there was a strange tingle in the back of his mind, a familiarity in his senses, images and emotions long forgotten.

Izreina gave a slow nod and bit her lower lip, watching him. She knew what was going through his mind, even without 'looking'. She knew he had doubt on whether or not what his eyes saw was true. So, she 'helped' him along a little, feeding a few of her own memories into his consciousness, just something for him to pull on, to remember. "Yes, Isaac… It's me…" Her voice quivered, much as she was afraid of this moment.

It was a long quiet moment before he gave her a warm smile, placed hands on her shoulders and pulled her into him, hugging her so tightly; she wondered if he would ever let her go. "I haven't been called that in ages… Not since… well… ages…" He blinked away tears, not wanting to remember that night. He relaxed his grip around her and let her step back, hands still on her shoulders. "Izzy, I thought you were dead… I never woulda left if I knew you weren't…"

Izreina placed a finger on his lips. "Shhh… I know… I'm sure we both would have made better choices, had circumstances been different. You had to leave; otherwise you would have died, as well. Then where would we be now? What would have happened if you had not become the pilot of Deathscythe?" She gave him a bright smile and nodded towards the kitchenette. "How about some coffee?"

* * *

><p>Relena sat at her desk, trying to shuffle through paperwork outside the reach of her 10-month-old son that was sitting in her lap. She smiled down to him as his grubby little fingers grabbed hold of the letter she'd been looking for.<p>

"Thank you, Aaron," she said softly, trying to pull it from his grasp before it ripped or wrinkled too much. "Let it go, Sweetie, Mommy needs to sign that." She laughed a quiet chuckle as she finally managed to pry his fingers off the page. He found something else to occupy his attention while Relena quickly jotted down her signature, thankful that she wouldn't have to print out another copy.

She looked up as her office door opened, only for a moment as her son pulled her reading glasses off her face. "Stop, Aaron," she said quietly, untangling his fingers from the chain she had her glasses on. "Daddy's here." She took back her glasses and sighed, looking at the lenses, covered in a teething infant's drool. She looked up to their visitor, a small smile on her face as she rolled her office chair away from the desk. She tilted her head to the side a moment, watching him as he reached down, gently lifting his son off his mother's lap. "Heero, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, leaning against her desk. He gave a rare smile as Aaron tried to grab at short whiskers on his face and gave an even rarer chuckle as his son began gnawing on, or attempting to, said whiskers. "Teething already? Or are you telling me that I need to shave?"

Relena folded her arms and leaned back in her office chair. As amused as she was, watching the normally stoic 'Perfect Soldier' act so different, so _normal_ around her and their son, she was unconvinced by his answer. When Heero Yuy _showed_ concern, there was usually something to be concerned about.

"It's not _nothing_, Heero. It's something. You sounded concerned on the phone and you look worried about something. What is it?" She stood, taking a piece of cloth from Aaron's diaper bag. She wiped the baby's drool off of his face, then his father's face. "Yes, he's teething, and yes, you do need to shave." She smiled at Heero, leaning up to kiss his grizzled cheek. "Now… what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong, per se…," he said, carrying Aaron to a corner of Relena's office where she had set up his playpen. He gently set the boy down, running his hand over Aaron's soft head. He looked back to Relena. "I met Tempest, this morning." He stood and returned to her at the desk.

"Okay," she said, wrapping arms around his waist. "So, now you can scratch off that personal mission as completed. But why the long face? Is Tempest not who you expected?" She laid her head against his chest as his arms encircled her.

"No, not at all. But, she's who I hoped she'd be." He smiled down to Relena. "I understand those dreams I've been having, now. She's my big sister."

She leaned back away from him, to give her a better look up at him. "Your sister? Lucrezia told me a little about the Storm, well, as she knows them. She never mentioned any relation. Though she said they held their secrets, even from her and Milliardo." She raised a brow, looking at him, noting his smile had faded back into a worried frown. She had known that there was still a lot of Heero's past that he couldn't bring himself to share with her, so it really didn't come as a surprise that he had a sister. "So what's wrong? Aren't you happy to see her again?"

"Very," he said quietly, stepping out of their embrace. He looked over to Aaron, watching him gnaw on one of the many teething toys in the playpen. "It's like a void has been filled. What worries me is that all three Stormers have been revealed, all at once. Trinity acted like the Storm is coming up on its last days."

"You're worried that you're going to lose her again, is that it?"

"Wouldn't you be?" He looked back to her. "Of course, you would be, if it were Zechs… And you barely remember that part of your past. But I remember, vividly, the night Trin and I were separated and the events leading up to, and everything after." He walked away from her, standing to look out the window next to Aaron's playpen. "Trinity was my entire world, more like a mother than our own was. Losing her was the first step I was forced into taking as a perfect soldier." He looked down to the baby, hearing coos and giggles. Aaron beamed a toothless grin up at his father, arms reaching up for him.

Heero smiled and leaned over the side of the playpen, lifting him up into his arms. "I've been working hard to leave the past where it belongs. Thanks to you and Aaron, I've been able to gain back a lot of what was taken from me." He held Aaron's hand securely as tiny fingers wrapped tightly around one of his. "I don't want either of you to go through what we did."

Relena stepped up next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You're worried about slipping into old habits if you lose her again. Heero, you're one of the most caring people I know. You've always known, in your heart, what was right and wrong." She gave him a warm smile. "Or else you would have killed me when we first met. And you had several opportunities to do so. Instead, you've always protected me, even during times where you probably should have killed me." She wrapped arms around Heero and Aaron, placing a light kiss on his cheek. "Do you remember what you said to me at the end of the war? Just before you took Wing Zero to fight with my brother in Epyon? You said, '_Believe in me._' And I do, always have. There is _nothing_ in our past together that would lead me to believe you would become any less the man you are. Nothing…. I love you. Our son loves you. You have friends, no, brothers in the other pilots. You've even earned Milliardo's respect. There's no way you could become what you were trained to be, not when so many of us believe in who you are, now."

He smiled, laying his head atop hers as Aaron started reaching for her. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you… either of you…" He let Relena catch the child as he lunged out of his father's arms. "Marry me, Relena…" He wrapped an arm around her, the other hand resting on the back of his son.

"You're serious?" She looked up at him as Aaron reached for one of her earrings. She grabbed hold of his hand and pulled it away from her ear. "Do you realize how public of an event a wedding would be? You sure you wouldn't rather just go elope?"

"I know… I was at Duo's wedding, remember? And _he_ wasn't marrying the Vice Foreign Minister." He smiled, leaning down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips. "I know… Duo's wedding is a really bad example… It was more of a freaking block party… My point is… I don't care how public it is… Everyone already knows how much you mean to me… Besides, just think of how disappointed our friends would be if we didn't include them."

She smiled, leaning against him. "Should we take bets on how many of our friends are going to say '_It's about damn time_'?"

He chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "I'd say that's no contest…" He stepped away, his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He fished the phone out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. "Headquarters…" He gave only a slight glance to Relena as he flipped the phone open. She carried Aaron back over to the playpen as he answered. "Yuy… I'll be right there, Duo." He closed the phone and remained silent for a moment. He took a few steps and patted Aaron softly before Relena placed him back into the playpen. "Mission briefing… with the other pilots and the Storm…"

"Something big is about to go down, if they're calling for all of you…" She wrapped arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his. "Go… We can discuss wedding details when you get back…"


	5. Chapter 4

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Four

The cockpit hatch of the gundam named Maelstrom swung open. Trinity stepped out onto the elevated walkway, removing her helmet, and tossed it into the seat behind her. She looked around the hanger as she shed her Stormer jumpsuit, revealing the crimson halter top and dark jeans she wore underneath it. So many empty mobile suits were stored here. And there were several other hangers just like this one. Trinity silently wondered if Sarris managed to finally get pilots for all the suits he had built, which she knew was a number in the mid to upper hundreds, though she hadn't been able to get an accurate count.

She heard heavy footfalls on the metal grate of the walkway behind her. But she didn't look back to him as she threw her jumpsuit over the side of the railing, watching it drift, almost in slow motion, to the metal floor of the hanger at Maelstrom's feet. She closed her eyes as she felt his strong hands rest on her bare shoulders a moment then sliding down her arms. Then his arms were wrapped around her waist and his lips brushed against her shoulder before he pulled her towards him.

"Glad you could bring the suit, this time," he whispered in her ear and placed another kiss against her neck. "You have everything we needed from them, then?" he asked, turning her slowly, to face him. His fingers traced her jawline from ear to chin as her eyes opened, staring into his with their usual emotionless intensity.

Her eyes connected with the green sea of his for several minutes before focusing on the rest of him. He was taller than her, by a good foot, older by several years. His hair was a lighter color than others of his family, a sort of brownish blond, with a few streaks of gray. Not a bad sight to see, really. And, maybe she did have feelings for him… once…

"Yes…" she replied, in a voice that was much softer than normal, more feminine than that of a heartless soldier. "It's all in Maelstrom's memory banks… Everything you asked for."

"Good." He smiled, leaning in to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. "You look tired, Love. You deserve a nice long rest, and then we'll have a quiet dinner together."

What was this effect he always had on her? Nothing seemed clear when he was near, much less when he kissed her. She wondered, not for the first time during this mission, if she had let things go too far between them. The mission depended on Trinity's superficial relationship with Sarris Barton, but there was a reason their past romantic excursion had ended. She knew there was some sort of hold he had on her, but she couldn't understand what it was. She just knew that when he gave an order, she obeyed, without question.

* * *

><p>Heero, Duo, and Quatre sat in silence while waiting in the conference room. An occasional glance between them stated that they each had similar thoughts. Though Duo and Quatre probably didn't have as in depth of talk with their sisters as Heero had with his, it was clear there were still unanswered questions in all their minds.<p>

The two other pilots just sat, watching. Wufei was somewhat glad for the silence from Duo, but at the same time, he knew there was a damned good reason for it. And if he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes, he would have never believed it.

Two of the infamous Stormers entered, their black jackets completely unzipped to reveal bright red tees underneath. It was when they took seats next to their brothers that Wufei's jaw dropped nearly down to the table. Even Trowa had to do a double-take at the likenesses to Duo and Quatre.

Heero wasn't surprised to see Trinity missing from the group. She had told him as much as she could about her mission, as much as she had told her counterparts. Looking at the tired, worn faces of the two Stormers there, he knew she hadn't told them everything.

Une finally walked through the door, shutting it behind her. She stopped just inside the door, someone was missing. Then she nodded, giving Heero only a slight glance, as she slipped into a chair at the head of the table.

"Introductions first… Pilots," she gave a nod to Wufei and Trowa while waving a hand towards Kalli and Izreina. "Preventers Thunder and Lightning… Izreina Maxwell and Kalli Nicole Winner… Second, you'll notice we're missing one Stormer: The Preventer Tempest, Trinity Yuy… who's decided to take on a solo mission against orders… One of two things has happened, since she's taken Maelstrom with her this time out, and she's not been in contact the entire day… Either she's in over her head… or she's defected… Either of those equals a serious problem for us…" She held up a hand as the other two Stormers began to object to defection, while Heero silently stared, intensely at Une. "I certainly hope the latter's not the case, but it _is_ a possibility… Let me explain."

"_Wait_…," the two Stormers said at once, sitting straight up in their chairs. Both of them looked as if they were focused on something that wasn't even in the room, eyes never blinking once for several minutes.

"Finally," Une said with a sigh of relief as she tossed her reading glasses down. She gave a 'shush' towards Wufei, who had opened his mouth to say something. "This is Tempest's way of relaying information. Radio transmissions can be bugged. Mentally, she has total control of who hears the conversation."

"Kalli said that when Tempest pulls them into a… a sort of mental conference, which I'm assuming this is," said Quatre, watching his sister's stone-like face, "they're no longer aware of their surroundings. It's like their consciousness is transported to a whole different plane of existence."

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Trowa, staring straight into the blank eyes of Quatre's sister. "It looks almost like they're in a coma."

"It could be," Quatre responded, "if they stayed in that conference for too long, or if something happened to suddenly sever the link. Without the mind telling the heart to beat or the lungs to breathe, it could be fatal."

"Could be…," Une said, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the table, watching the girls. "But, Trinity has the ability to control their vitals while in this state."

Suddenly Heero took in a quick gasp as he blinked. No one had noticed he'd been pulled into the connection as well. He stood quickly, breathing heavily. "Get them to the infirmary… NOW!" The words had barely left his mouth when Kalli and Izreina both choked in silent screams, eyes widening with terror before they rolled back, each falling into the waiting arms of their brothers.

Une didn't hesitate, pressing a few buttons on the intercom next to her. "Med Center, stand by. Incoming Stormers." She looked to Heero as she stood, shoving chairs aside so that Quatre and Duo could get through. "What happened?" she commanded, taking a step to open the door.

Heero leaned against the wall behind him, more for support than anything. He suddenly felt weak, ill. There was a pain, indescribable to him, before Trinity cut him from the connection. He didn't say anything for a long time, just stared into his friends' worried glances as they carried their sisters out of the conference room. He finally managed to compose himself and stared at Une, a stare which caused her to take several steps back.

"I'm going after my sister… I don't care who she is, there's no reason she should have been allowed to take on ANY mission alone!" He angrily grabbed his jacket. He didn't respond to her inquiry, he wasn't exactly sure how. All he knew was that Trinity was in danger. He tapped Duo and Quatre on the shoulder. "After you get them down there, suit up. They'll be okay. I promise."

* * *

><p>Trinity shot straight up as her eyes flew open. Beads of sweat poured down her face and she heaved heavy breaths, wide eyes focusing on Sarris, sitting on the side of the bed, a satisfied smile spread across his face.<p>

"What have you done…?" she whispered, between labored breaths.

He had a towel in hand, gently pressing it against her face, wiping away sweat. "Not me, Love… You…" He dropped the towel into her lap and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small clear box with an even smaller item in it, about the size of the head of a thumbtack, some kind of electronic device. "You know what this is, don't you?"

Her eyes narrowed on the object in his hands. Anger flashed in them as she looked back to him. "How…? Where did you get that…?"

"Yeah, you know… This is the tiny little device that gives you and your counterparts your mental powers. Inserted into the base of the skull, it attaches directly to your brain, allowing your mind to connect to others. And the possibilities of _what_ your mind can do to others are endless. It also gives you a connection to your suit that makes even the ZERO system seem inferior. But do you know what else was included in their programming?" He didn't look to her, giving a pause simply for dramatic effect as he turned the device over in his hands. "Complete obedience to the faction it was fashioned for. All I have to do is type commands into a little computer and it sends orders that you can't help but carry out. Unfortunately for your two friends, there was some sort of accident during a training exercise soon after their devices were implanted. It was nothing short of a miracle they survived it, but the devices were damaged, erasing a lot of programming, limiting their abilities and taking them out of our control. Surely, you can see how that might be an issue for me. I couldn't terminate the devices myself because our computer couldn't locate them. But you could…" He placed the box back in his pocket, looking down to her.

So that was it, she was a slave to Sarris and the Foundation. He had commanded her to terminate the devices implanted in her sisters. "But… that would…," she reached up, touching her cheek as she felt something wet. She looked at her fingers, as if seeing something foreign that was falling from her eyes. Tears… she had forgotten what they felt like. "They'll die…," she whispered. Her hands covered her face and she wept, openly.

"Yes, a shame too… They were such lovely girls… But people die in war, Love. You know that all too well…" He stood, leaning over, placing a light kiss on the top of her head. "And they're only the beginning. You should get your rest. The final leg of your mission begins tomorrow." He turned, quickly exiting the room, a guard shutting the door behind him.

She lowered her hands, staring through watery eyes towards the door, and whispered, "Not if I have anything to say about it…" She closed her eyes, focusing her mind. _Maelstrom, transmit._

Then, all hell broke loose at Sarris' headquarters.

* * *

><p>Sally closed the door behind her as she stepped into the hallway. She looked straight to Une, staring through the window at the Stormers, now on full life support.<p>

"They're stabilized, for now," she said quietly to the Lady. "But unless we can do something, soon, they'll die. Scans show the devices are completely unresponsive, looks like a remote override. I can't see any way of reviving them unless those devices are removed, and I'm no brain surgeon. I'm not even sure they _can_ be removed without killing them instantly. We don't know enough about them," said Sally after a few moments.

"There's a connection to their suits too, apparently," said Une. "Howard paged me soon after they were brought down. His computers recorded Illumination and Thundershock both having experienced electrical surges and then total shut down. He can't bring them back online."

"And this happened at the same time as their collapse? I heard mention of an emotional connection to their suits, I had assumed it was something like the ZERO system," said Sally, looking back through the window.

"This was something way more advanced, and much more dangerous," Une looked through the window. "The question is: Who was holding the remote? I have a hard time believing it was Trinity. She loves these girls too much…" She paused a moment in realization. "Sarris… but how?" she said aloud to herself. She nearly ran into Sally's office next door, pushing the intercom button on her desk. "Noin… My office… NOW!" She didn't say anything else as she ran down the hallway towards her office.


	6. Chapter 5

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Five

"Three years after the you and Zechs _volunteered_ for assignment to the terra-forming project, you abandoned it, and disappeared for months, only to return with the girls and their brand new abilities. I forgave you for abandoning your posts, as it was apparent the project wasn't planned out very well. I even forgave you two for going AWOL. I know how close you are to the girls. And I even gave the girls their privacy regarding the circumstances involving the implants. Obviously, we all underestimated their importance. I want you to tell me, now, what happened back then." Une started as soon as she met Noin just outside her office. She then slammed the door shut. "Izreina and Kalli are dying, and you and Zechs are the only people we have for answers."

Noin looked at her for a long time, before speaking. Even though she was in shock at what she'd been told about the girls, Une was still impatient. She slammed her fist on the top of the desk. "Dammit, don't make me make it an order! If they die, I'm putting it on YOUR head for negligence!" She was having difficulty keeping her composure. She cared as much about the Stormers as everyone else. And, damn it all, this was a situation that possibly could have been avoided if they had been straight with her, from the start, regarding their implants.

"We lost touch with the girls towards the end of the war. They just pretty much vanished," said Noin, finally, choking over her words. "We were preparing our final report on the terra-forming project," she said after a long breath, attempting to calm herself. "Before we could finish it, we felt… I don't know, really. It was just this feeling that we were needed somewhere else. We were led to what looked like one of the first colonies in L1, or what was left of it. The closer we got, Zechs and I were both hearing Trinity's voice in our heads." She paused a moment to finally compose herself.

"She and the girls had been captured, and were test subjects for some project headed by the Barton Foundation, I'm assuming it was revenge for Dekim's death. We went in, Trinity guiding us. Zechs went down to rescue the girls, and I tried to get into their systems to find out what I could about the project. But there was some sort of failsafe program. As soon as I got past the first firewall, systems started overloading and set off detonators throughout the entire place. We all managed to get out in time, and there was one other shuttle leaving, but we sustained too much damage to be able to pursue it, and the girls needed medical attention. By the time we got the chance to go back out there, there wasn't even a scrap left of the place. And no trace left behind by the other shuttle."

Une sighed heavily, falling into her office chair, holding her hand which was now sore from hitting the desk. "So you don't know any more than we do about the implants?"

Noin shook her head. "No… but I know Trinity has been keeping information about it from us. She was extremely concerned about Kal and Iz when the Storm was given this assignment, especially when I mentioned Sarris Barton's name. Apparently he was the one in charge of the project they were subjected to. She knew there was a danger from the beginning and she didn't want the girls involved, so she didn't include them. They don't have near the abilities that she had, and they were near death when we rescued them. I'm assuming they were failed subjects."

"Apparently there was something else in the device's programming. Sarris must have wanted to dispose of the failures… He probably has other plans for Trinity," Une said quietly. "Howard's computers haven't reported Maelstrom having any problems yet, so she's still alive. If Sarris was the one in charge of the original project, he must have had a backup of the information on the implants. There could still be a way of saving the girls." She looked out the window, heaving another sigh. "This isn't a fire… This is a terrible storm brewing… Trinity was on to something when she gave herself the codename 'Tempest'…" She looked back to Noin. "Get out there with the general. Do whatever you can to get that information and we'll pray the girls can survive long enough for it to be of any use…"

Noin nodded as the phone/intercom on Une's desk beeped, requesting her attention. Une froze, looking at the number on the ID screen. It was Howard and she looked to Noin, the same fear reflected in her eyes. _Please don't tell me we've lost Trinity, too,_ she told herself. She pressed the button, hesitating a moment before slowly saying, "Go ahead, Howard."

"_Lady, we got a ton of data flowing in from Maelstrom. Stream after stream. Looks like it hacked into Foundation headquarters and is just sending everything it comes across to us. Just got a group of files, though, that you really need to look at. It concerns our girls. I'm forwarding them to ya."_

"Got them," said Une, turning to her computer, giving a sigh of relief that it wasn't the bad news they were expecting. After a quick glance over the files, she would have given Howard a great big hug had he been in the office. She smiled, looking over to Noin. "Howard, you're a lifesaver… Literally," she added before cutting off the intercom. "My God, the programming is detailed…," she paused, gasping lightly. "This is why she didn't want the girls involved…" She waved Noin over, motioning to the screen. "This command program of Sarris' lost connection to Izreina's and Kalli's implants, some kind of accident."

"She knew they were going to be killed… That's why she called me and Zechs… Look…" She stopped, suddenly, pointing to the screen. "Recent orders he's given to Trinity…"

"_Deactivate psi devices 02 and 03_… He couldn't do it himself, but he knew if he gave Trinity the order, she'd have to… He knew it would kill them," Une said as she studied the program more. "If they're devices aren't connected to the master program that means _we_ can't reactivate them…"

_But I can…_ They both heard it, Trinity's voice.

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Sarris commanded as he entered his command center, shoving lackeys aside so that he could see the computer screen.<p>

"I… I don't know," answered a young man seated in front of him. "We were in the middle of downloading the information from the gundam's computer. Then, all of a sudden, our own files started erasing themselves. I can't stop it. I don't have control over any of our systems. I can't even get the barriers back up."

"Damn it, cut the hard line to the gundam!" he shouted, pressing a button on the intercom, receiving nothing but static in return. He shoved an officer towards the door. "Get down there and cut it!" He looked back to the computer screen. "That bitch…," he muttered. "I suppose that means we can't access the psi program…" He looked down to his technician that responded only with a shake of his head. "Damn!"

"Uh… sir?" asked the officer he had shoved towards the door. "The gundam's right outside…" He was staring out the open door at Maelstrom's metal feet.

"Detonations sequences have started!" his technician shouted as alarms rang out.

"Damn that woman!" he shouted, pointing to his men. "You and you… Upstairs with me. Everyone else, begin evacuations. Get as many pilots to their suits as you can, I imagine we're going to have to fight our way out." He ran out the door and up the stairs, pulling his gun out of its holster.

He stepped over the two unconscious guards he had posted outside her door. "Get them and get out of here," he said to the two men he'd brought up with him as he opened the door in time to see Trinity jumping up into the open cockpit hatch of her suit standing outside the balcony door. "Get down here, Bitch! I OWN YOU!" he commanded, his gun trained on her, as explosions began going off in the distance. The floor shook underneath him, unsettling his balance. Almost in a rhythmic beat, the explosions were getting closer and closer.

"Not anymore, you don't," she stated, strapping herself into the cockpit seat. "You gave me the ability to connect not only to minds, but computers. All I had to do was re-write my programming while Maelstrom was connected to your computers," she added as the hatch closed before he could regain his stance and gun position.

He looked up, steadying himself finally, as Maelstrom stepped back, its buster rifle trained on his headquarters. He fired a shot towards it, but it just ricocheted. "Damn it," he said to himself.

_If you want to live long enough to have a chance of escape,_ _take the psi device out of your pocket… and destroy it_. He heard her voice in the back of his mind, giving him the reassurance that she was out of his control, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to enter his mind.

"I've got to hand it to you, Love, you knew more about these things than I gave you credit for… The first things you stole from us were concerning the psi program… If you've got it… do it yourself," he challenged, staring her down, as if he could see her right through the suit's armor. The explosions were getting closer. He placed his gun back in its holster. "You're bluffing," he shouted to her as her ran out the door.

_**We won't ask again**__. _Sarris heard the reply, but it wasn't just Trinity's voice he heard… It was three, deep, strong, commanding. If he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn it was the other two Stormers. But that was impossible. They should be dead by now. He just managed to reach the base of the stairs when he felt this odd sensation in his mind, followed by blinding pain. And he screamed.

* * *

><p>"How many are there?" asked Quatre, blinking out of the worried trance he'd been in up till then. He couldn't say he remembered getting into Sandrock and getting out into space. All his thoughts had been centered on his sister, despite the reassurance from Heero that she'll be okay. But here he was, with the other four gundam pilots, facing a large number of enemy suits, and more coming out of the station. All of them were in battle stances, but none attacked yet.<p>

"Three hundred and counting," Heero replied as he commanded Wing Zero to draw its twin sabers. "Actual number of suits on board is unknown. Many of them have been taken out already from the station's self-detonation."

"That doesn't leave us with very good odds," said Quatre, finally paying attention to the statistics Sandrock was displaying, readying his gundams bladed weapons.

"Better odds with eight of us," added Kalli, in a voice he didn't recognize, deeper, almost as monotonous as Heero.

"Kalli…?" He barely blinked his eyes and Illumination and Thundershock seemed to appear from nowhere between them and the enemy suits. "They're fast…," he whispered, staring at the two new gundams.

"We have a different connection with our suits than what you do to yours," Izreina said, her voice mirroring her counterpart. "Command response times are almost instantaneous."

"We don't have the reservations you all have about not killing," Kalli said. "You'll have to work fast if you want to there to be survivors. These guys will be fighting out of anger, hatred. They won't surrender."

"There's something to be said for loyalty," Duo said, eyeing his sister's suit. One could have a small sense of sarcasm in the remark. He couldn't honestly say he was happy about the conversation they had earlier. The years they had been without each other, the years she led him to believe she was dead, and her confession that she had originally had no intention on coming back to him. He was conflicted inside.

"Not loyalty… Pride… Sarris Barton is dead." Izreina closed the walls of her mind, concentrating on the upcoming battle. She literally shut off all emotions that would interfere with combat. All three of the Stormers did. In battle, they were as dead inside as dolls.

"We can handle ourselves, just fine," Wufei stated. It irritated him to no end that these women just appeared out of nowhere and started shooting orders. "Are you sure YOU can handle it, Woman?" He regretted the statement immediately after he said it, the reply coming with a dull, faint pain in his mind.

_**We are the Storm… We take on the jobs you boys can't… **_It wasn't just one voice he and the other pilots heard in the back of their minds. It was three, completely in sync with one another, so perfect he had trouble telling one from the other. There was no emotion in the voices, and he understood immediately why the Storm was nothing to laugh at, regardless of whether or not they were women.

It was at that moment a final explosion came from the station, and almost instantly, Maelstrom appeared in front of them, only for a moment as Trinity's voice sounded through their speakers with a hint of amusement in her challenge. "Just keep up… If you can…"

Then, with a speed unfathomable to the five pilots, the Storm dove into the wave of oncoming suits. A long moment later, the five gundams joined them.

"Damned women…," Wufei muttered to himself, being the last to enter battle.


	7. Chapter 6

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Six

Zechs and Noin sat quietly watching the battle from their shuttle. They were standing by, ready to pull survivors aboard. That's _if_ the Storm left any. It was a storm, indeed, out in space. The scattering debris and smoke looked almost like storm clouds being pulled around by their fast suits, like a hurricane in space. Explosions from within looked almost like lightning through the clouds, and Noin swore she could hear the thunder in them.

"Makes you kind of glad things happened the way they did during the war," she said softly. "Things would have turned out much differently if they had been what they were supposed to have been."

Zechs didn't respond for several moments, watching the storm as if he could see straight through it, following every movement of the three suits creating the phenomenon. "If _anything_ had happened the way it was supposed to have, things would have been different. Every one of us knew, even Treize, the gundams were the best hope we had of ending the war and keeping the peace after. It's just that no one was expecting how things developed. On the other side, had things not proceeded as they did, none of us would have learned the things we learned. I guarantee if it weren't for the pilots, or the girls for that matter, I would have followed Treize to whatever end he was looking for."

"We all made mistakes back then, even Treize. I don't think any of us really knew what we were doing. I certainly don't think anyone realized the pilots… just kids… would make the difference that they did." Noin sat back, looking at him. "It wasn't the gundams, they were just a symbol of what humanity would become if we stayed on the path we were."

"Humanity is still on that path," he didn't look at her, shaking his head, continuing to watch the storm. "Else we wouldn't need the gundams, still, or the Storm."

"The boys can't even keep up with them… It doesn't look like we'll have many survivors…" She sighed, glancing back to the battle. "When will people learn…?"

"When there's nothing left to fight for… As long as there are people like Barton, as I'm sure there are, there will be more people sacrificing their lives needlessly. And we must rely on the gundams to rectify their mistakes."

"That sounds familiar…" She paused for a moment, looking back to him. "Do you think this was the future Treize had in mind?"

"No… But he knew humanity's basic nature. He knew that we would never see true peace. At least, not in our lifetime." His eyes narrowed at the battle outside. "What the…?" He sat forward as the clouds began to clear. The Storm's attack came to a halt. Maelstrom seemed frozen. "Something is wrong. Tempest, report… Trinity…?" His questions answered only with static. _Trinity…_

_Trin, why have you stopped?_ She vaguely heard the inquiry from her counterparts, watching her display screen go black. It was something she had expected. Sarris would have covered all his grounds if something went wrong. She counted on it, and thought she had taken the necessary caution to protect herself and her suit if he did.

* * *

><p>"Maelstrom…?" She blinked in surprise, repeatedly feeding manual overriding commands, receiving nothing in return. Nothing was working. She couldn't even get a mental connection re-established. "Damn it…Sarris, you were a thorough bastard…" <em>I've been sabotaged… Maelstrom is completely unresponsive…<em>

She unstrapped herself so that she could reach the access panel to Maelstrom's computer, having some difficulty with the barrage her suit was now receiving. _Keep fighting, girls. These guys are making it kind of hard to concentrate._ When the battle resumed outside, she pulled open the panel, trying every trick she knew to get her suit operational again.

A moment later, she gave a small smile as the cockpit lit up. She barely had time to slide back into her seat when a warning came to the back of her mind as she reconnected mentally to Maelstrom. "Son of a bitch…" She nearly screamed a final command to the other pilots. "Self-detonation has been activated! Get your asses clear!" She made double-sure the order went out, mentally broadcasting it to the other pilots as she attempted to open the cockpit hatch, controls still unresponsive to her.

She gave a sigh, sitting back into the seat, a grim expression on her face. "I'll see you in Hell, Sarris…," she whispered, staring blankly at the black display screen. "My place there is already reserved…" She closed her eyes, sensing Maelstrom slowly charging its detonator, giving out this long whining sound as if it were an apology to her. _It's alright, my dear friend,_ she thought. _It's a good day to die… I have no regrets…_

That was a lie. In the corner of her mind, there was one thing she regretted. It was something she had avoided at all cost to acknowledge, knowing the cost of the friendship it would contradict. She opened her eyes, watching the controls in front of her vanish in a bright electrical explosion. _Zechs… I love you… _Then her mind quieted.

* * *

><p>Zechs' eyes never blinked as the light that could have blinded a man came from Maelstrom, burning the image into his mind as her final mental words to him faded. Everything around him seemed to disappear as he continued to watch the cascade of explosions erupted outward from where it originated, claiming a large number of remaining enemy suits. He had a faint recollection of seeing something similar when he sat in the cockpit of Wing Zero for the first time. The ZERO system had shown him a lot of things, including the destruction of someone he treasured. Though, at the time, he didn't understand that particular image, now he knew.<p>

He came out of his trance, abruptly as he felt Noin's hand on his shoulder. He looked over to her, her eyes reflecting his pain.

"Zechs…," she began, having difficulty putting the words together.

He blinked a few times, clearing his thoughts as he turned back to his computer consol, completely ignoring situation for the moment. There was still work to be done. "Illumination and Thundershock have sustained heavy damage. They were still too close to Maelstrom when it detonated." His voice betrayed no emotion as he concentrated on the reports coming in.

Noin fell back into her chair, blinking away tears that were falling freely. "Duo and Quatre are towing them in…," she said, quietly, her voice quivering. "Iz and Kal aren't responding. They're probably in shock…" She paused a moment to take in a deep breath, holding it for a long while before slowly exhaling, composing herself. "A portion of the enemy suits have escaped. Wufei is going after them."

"Tell him not to bother… Survivors?" he asked, looking back to his screen at the image of Wing Zero, just frozen in space, its buster rifle still aimed towards where Maelstrom had been. Heero must have thought of something that could have helped save Trinity, but Zechs couldn't recall Zero having fired the shot.

"Not many…," she said in a soft voice. "Most of those that survived the battle were caught in Maelstrom's explosion. The rest of them look like… mobile dolls...?"

He nodded, just staring at the screen as Zero finally lowered its rifle, remaining motionless. His eyes traced the battlefield. "…This was meaningless…"

"_I've got Tempest, but she's in bad shape." _ Trowa's voice came across the speakers as Heavyarms slowly made its way to board the transport behind Deathscyth, Sandrock, and their sisters' gundams. _"She's the only survivor I've found…"_

Noin blinked at his response as Zechs stood and, with a nod of acknowledgement, made his way to the bridge door. "How in the world can you gundam pilots keep surviving the destructions of your suits?" She glanced out the window just as Zero transformed into flight mode and disappeared in a streak of light, hearing the door shut behind her.

"_Our gundams have hearts all their own,"_ replied Quatre. "_If they are able, they'll find a way for us to survive. They'll sacrifice themselves long before they'll sacrifice us."_


	8. Chapter 7

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Seven

Izreina stared blankly at the readout the computer screen displayed, sitting on the platform of Thundershock's cockpit hatch. Structural damage was clearly visible on the suit's armor, some of it having been completely blown off. And the computer displayed a large number of internal problems. But she had a difficult time concentrating, not really reading the reports, just staring at the screen, one hand idly twirling a lock of hair through her fingers.

"She'll be alright. I'm sure of it."

"Hmm?" She blinked a few times before turning her head. She stared directly into the eyes of what she thought was her counterpart. It took a few moments of focus before she realized it was Quatre standing beside her, looking down to her. She gave him a small sad smile. "I can't help but worry." She closed the laptop shut with a heavy sigh, finally deciding that the damage analysis would have to wait.

He stepped back, offering a hand down to her to help her to her feet. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I actually came down looking for Kalli."

She took his offered hand, and was surprised at his strength as he pulled her to her feet almost effortlessly. She took a moment to balance herself, as she had prepared to stand using her own strength, and had over-compensated, not counting on him actually being able to lift her up as if she weighed nothing. "Kal… is probably down at the firing range… It's where she goes to relieve stress." She felt a moment of heat fill her cheeks, giving him a very shy smile as she felt a hand take hold of her other arm to help steady her. "I… I wouldn't head down there, though… When she's stressed, she becomes aggressive, and has a tendency to shoot anything that moves… She never misses."

He continued to hold on to her as he felt her begin to tremble. "I'll give her some time, then. I wanted to make sure she was alright, but you look like you could use some comforting, yourself." He stared down to her, genuine concern in his eyes.

She felt like she had to literally tear her gaze away from his or she would have melted into the aquamarine pools that were his eyes. She let her eyes fall to the hatch underneath their feet, mustering every ounce of strength she could to keep tears from forming. "There was a very good reason we never revealed ourselves to our brothers… What you saw of us out in space, the battle… the death we leave in our wake…" She sucked in a quick, deep breath as she felt her voice crack. "We never wanted to expose any of you to that… or anything that we've been subjected to in our history together… Trinity knew that Heero would understand. But we weren't very sure about you and Isaac… I mean, Duo… I keep forgetting that's what he calls himself now…"

"Oh, Izreina," he said, gently taking hold of her chin, lifting it slightly to pull her gaze back up to him. "We weren't very different from you during the war. I was so distraught over the death of my father when I first came across Wing Zero. The ZERO system fed off that anger, no hatred, and fear. I killed so many while under its influence, without even knowing who I was killing. But it took my friends, who cared enough about me to risk their lives, to make me see my errors. I nearly killed both Heero and Trowa." He paused a moment, sighing. "I can't give back the lives I took, but no one during that war died in vain. We all learned from the mistakes made." He gave her a small smile. "And Duo? Keep in mind that his gundam's name is 'Deathscythe'… and during the war he called himself the 'God of Death'…" That earned him a small flash of amusement in her eyes that was quickly drowned with tears.

"Izreina, all our hands are stained with innocent blood, but we would have never realized the true value of life unless we took it and accepted the consequences for doing so." He slid his arms around her, holding her close when she could no longer fight the tears. "The three of you are truly amazing pilots. Watching what you did out there makes me thank God that the soldiers in you weren't used as they intended to use you. We would have never stood a chance."

She let herself be pulled against him, suddenly feeling small as his strong arms seemed to swallow her whole. It was everything she could do to keep from completely breaking down as she sobbed quietly into his chest.

"You're a kind person, Quatre," she said softly, closing her eyes as she felt his chin rest atop her head. She felt comforting warmth in his embrace, a safety in his arms she can't recall having felt before. "I wish I was… I've hurt Isaac… I've hurt Duo badly."

"What do you mean?" He looked down as she lifted her eyes to his. His fingers gently brushed back her bangs, clinging to her face, wet by tears.

"Until the other day, I had no intention on reuniting with him. I was convinced that it would do more harm than good, that he was better off not knowing what I had become. I even had a new life in place for when the Storm finally decided to retire… He's so upset with me… He hasn't said one word to me since the battle… I don't want him thinking that I didn't want to see him again, that I don't love him… And that's far from the truth. I've been fighting myself over that decision ever since I made it…"

"Izreina," he smiled down to her. "You're a very kind person. You took into consideration what your brother might feel and made the best decision you could. Duo will come around. He's just probably in shock about this whole situation. We spoke for the first time with the three of you only this morning, and a few hours ago, we were witness to the full force of the Storm, having great difficulty realizing those were our sisters. Just give him time. Besides, it's late. It's been a long day, for you and Kalli especially. Get some rest. Your head will be clearer in the morning, so will Duo's."

She smiled at him, closing her eyes as his fingers brushed her remaining tears away. "Thanks, Quatre…" She really was tired, she hadn't felt it before. Emotionally, physically, she was exhausted. She leaned against him as she felt the weariness all over. She had needed support, a friend to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, and even though she was too overwhelmed to have noticed it, he had seen it. "Will you walk with me back to Storm Haven?"

"Sure, but I still want to check on Kalli."

* * *

><p>The sounds of her shots couldn't be heard over the sounds blaring from the stereo behind her. It took no time at all, to focus on her next target. Each shot seemed to be in perfect time with the down beat to her favorite song. The words echoed through her walls, allowing her to solely focus on the steady stream of moving targets in the distance. Everyone at HQ knew when the music was playing, stay the hell out of the way.<p>

"Damn you, Trin!" she screamed, barely audible even to her as the music drowned out everything. "You never care… how anyone feels… about the actions… you take!" she shouted, firing in between words. "If you… had included us… from the beginning…" The music behind her stopped suddenly, and Kalli didn't hesitate to turn her aim to the new target, pulling the trigger. Had there been a bullet left, it would have been sent straight through Trowa Barton's chest. He had stood motionless, a hand still resting on the stereo when she had pulled the trigger. Either he had been counting her shots, or he didn't think she had it in her to kill an ally. She betrayed no emotion, didn't blink, refusing to lower the gun, staring coolly into his intense eyes as he walked towards her.

"You would have been dead from the beginning," he said, gently removing the gun from her loosened grip, giving him an inclination of her fracturing emotional walls. He laid the gun down on the counter, leaning against it, placing himself between her and the gun.

Her cool eyes never left his, narrowing in anger that she had allowed him to catch her off her guard. "I would welcome death… What we've become…" She looked away from him, taking a few steps away, hands clenched into fists so tight in anger her knuckles were white. "The Storm has become exactly what Romefeller and Barton wanted it to be!" she yelled as she threw a punch into a double pane of glass that cracked under the impact. She stood, her clenched fist still deep into the impact site, ignoring the glass shards as they cut into her knuckles, feeling blood trickle down her fingers. "Trinity has been my only voice of reason… The only way I've been able to tell who my enemy is…," she said softly. "Death is a suitable sentence for my crimes… I've disgraced the name of Winner too many times to repent…" She finally pulled her hand away from the glass, staring at her still closed fist, the blood trailing down her arm.

He remained silent for a moment, watching her eyes follow the blood trail from her knuckles down, soaking into the sleeve of her jacket, the color disappearing into its black depths. "You sound just like us… Some time ago." His voice remained soft, steady, and he could see her eyes light up in anger at it. He stepped to one side, blocking a swing she had taken towards him with her good hand. "You're trying to learn the lessons we now know… Just don't forget the lives we took to get there…"

"Don't patronize me!" she screamed at him as she threw another punch with her battered fist, which he caught only inches from his face. "You've no idea where we've been…" Her eyes connected with his for several moments, widening as she saw a reflection of herself within them, trying to figure out exactly who, what she had been fighting.

His large hand closed around her fist, tiny shards of glass left in her knuckles from her attack on the window sliced into his palm. His eyes remained constant, acknowledging no pain as his blood now mixed with hers. "You're right… I don't… But I recognize the urge to fight… And rarely is it ever clear who your enemy is… Most of the time, though, it is yourself…"

Her eyes watered, falling deeper into his gaze, images from her past constantly replaying before her. "I don't know who I am anymore…," she whispered. "I don't remember who Kalli Nicole Winner was or even Kalinda Guro… The names have no meaning anymore… if they ever did… all I know is Lightning…" Her fist trembled in his grip as the glass pushed further into her flesh. "Those responsible for our pain… our torture to become the ultimate soldiers… They had no hearts… They felt nothing for the people they sacrificed for the sake of war, power… So they stole ours… Made us as soulless as the dolls they created when their soldiers refused to continue fighting for them…" Anger flashed in her eyes, staring through tears into his. "War itself is my enemy and those that serve its purpose deserve no less than death…" She tore her fist out of his grasp, turning away from him, refusing to let him continue to contribute to her insecurity. She picked up her gun, reloading it.

"There is no salvation for us…" She took aim on the targets in the distance, hitting them one after the other with deadly precision, the sting in her knuckles doing nothing to distract her focus. She tried to ignore his silent presence beside her as he just stood there, watching. She could feel his gaze peer straight through her, adding to her irritation. He had no right to judge her, he didn't know her.

"I know you're confused…," he said in that soft tone of his. "It's a point that we all came to… You don't have to go through this alone, we can help you…"

His voice was, in a way, soothing. Any other time, she would welcome his presence, but she was past the point of consolation, especially from this pilot that had no business getting into hers. The words only fueled her fire. _Control your anger, Kal_, she heard Trinity's voice in her mind, a memory of the words she heard often from the older woman. She closed her eyes, the words echoing in her mind, pausing her shooting for a brief moment. _Anger will only lead to violence… and eventually you're going to hurt someone you love…_

Her eyes shot open when she sensed movement on her other side. Again she didn't hesitate to take aim. _**Kalli, STOP!**_ She heard the warning in her mind a split second too late as she pulled the trigger. Her eyes widened, gasping as she finally focused on the newcomer.

"Oh, God… Quatre!"


	9. Chapter 8

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Eight

Heero stared through the glass at the machines monitoring his sister's vital signs for a long time before his eyes settled on her face. He wanted to be in there with her, but when he got to the room nearly an hour before, Zechs was sitting next to her, and he showed no signs of leaving, or wanting to. He didn't know why he was there, though he had a suspicion, identifying a certain something in Zechs' eyes as he looked upon his sister's face, his fingers occasionally brushing uncooperative bangs away from her face.

"He's been in love with her from the moment we met her… years ago." Noin just barely received an acknowledging glance from the pilot as she stepped up beside him, looking through the glass. "We didn't know she was your sister until just this morning, though I'm not surprised." She glanced to Heero, and just gave a sigh at not receiving a response from him then turned back to the window. "Sally said her psi device was damaged, we can't find it to do a full analysis using the program. She won't know how it will affect Trinity until she wakes up." She knew very well that, by now, Heero had read over the project files Maelstrom had stolen.

"There's no way the program Sarris had was the master program. The Barton Foundation didn't create the project. They just bought the weapons created by it."

"Huh?" She looked back to him, a brow raised. "You mean Trinity and the girls…?"

"…Were nothing more than tools of a war profiteer," he said, closing his eyes. "That's all we've ever been to _him_…," he added in a whisper. He looked to his other side, hearing others approaching. "What the…?"

Quatre walked down the hallway, an arm around Izreina, leaning on her for support as she half-carried him into a room next door to Trinity. The shoulder of his jacket was completely saturated with blood. "I suppose… I should have taken… your advice," he said to Izreina, wincing, a soft grunt in between words as she helped him up onto an exam table. "I… honestly didn't… think she'd do it…"

"Kal shot him?" Noin asked. She followed them, with Heero, into the room as Izreina helped Quatre remove his jacket while medical personnel paged Sally. She looked at Izreina, noticing how weary she was, dark circles under red eyes. She'd been crying, something she couldn't remember ever seeing from the girls. "Iz…?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough, Quatre," Izreina said in a quiet and shaky voice, ignoring Noin completely, stepping away from the table, holding tightly on to his jacket as nurses pulled his shirt off. "I couldn't pull you clear…" She looked down to the jacket, trembling in one hand as she clutched her shoulder with the other, as if she were the one who had been shot and not Quatre.

Sally walked in, just pausing a moment to take in the scene and tapped Heero on the shoulder. "Take her home… Get her to get some rest even if you have to shove a sedative into her. Where's Kal now?" she asked as she approached Quatre, giving him a look over as Heero put a supporting arm around Izreina.

"Trowa… took her home…" He looked up, giving Izreina a small, reassuring smile as their eyes met briefly before Heero led her out the door.

Sally shook her head as she stepped away from Quatre just a few moments to wash her hands thoroughly. "I was afraid something like this was going to happen…," she said aloud to herself before walking back to Quatre. "Exit wound on the back side, so no hunting for a bullet. Just a few stitches and you'll be set."

"Afraid what was going to happen, Sal?" Noin folded her arms, leaning against the door frame. She watched Heero escort Izreina down the hallway, still clutching to Quatre's jacket, for several moments before turning her attention back to Sally as she worked on patching Quatre up.

"Part of the girls' training included suppressing emotions. As soldiers they needed to eliminate any obstacle that would endanger their missions, and emotions can often impair judgment. But because their training was incomplete, they can't fully bury the emotions. Once the battle is done and their soldier personas subside, the emotions come flooding in, and they sometimes can't handle the rush. Trinity's been able to guide them, subconsciously, to keep their emotions from becoming too overwhelming. Without the connection to her, there could be trouble. Kalli has always had issues with anger, there are times she would head to a bar or club just looking to get into fights to release the anger. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt… although I honestly expected her to hurt herself…" She looked back to Noin as she let her staff finish bandaging Quatre up. "Tell Une the girls are on an extended medical LOA for an undefined period of time. It might be a good idea to confiscate all of Kal's weapons. The same will go for Trinity when she wakes up. Until I can go through the information we got concerning their psi devices, I only want them to concentrate on healing themselves, bodies and minds, hearts and souls."

Quatre slid off the examination table, silently ordering the room to stop spinning as both hands clenched into tight fists. "What… the _hell_ has been done to my sister and what the _fuck_ is a psi device?"

Both women turned to face him, eyes wide with surprise that the normally prim and proper composed pilot used not one but two curse words, in the same sentence no less. Of course, considering the questions that went along with them, he had every right to use them. It was pretty apparent Kalli hadn't told him everything. Neither of them wanted to overstep any boundaries by telling him everything that they knew, but they could at least answer his question truthfully.

* * *

><p>Kalli didn't know when it was during their trek that she fell asleep; hell she could hardly remember anything after coming back from the mission. She awoke with a start when Trowa spoke, asking her for Storm Haven's access code. He had carried her all the way down here? She all but jumped out of his arms as she forced her senses to come back to her. Okay, what the hell happened…? She pondered it over as she instinctively typed the numbers into the keypad. She was down at the firing range, blowing some steam, and then there was Trowa… and Quatre and Iz… She gasped, a hand covering her mouth. And she finally realized why she felt like she had been crying. She felt an unusual pain in her chest, also.<p>

"I shot Quatre…," she said, her voice shaking and she felt weakness in her legs. She felt Trowa's arm around her as she stumbled. She fell into him as the lock disengaged behind her, and he reached around her to open the door, tightening the other arm around her. "I shot my brother…," she mumbled into his chest as he lifted her again into his arms.

"Quatre will be alright," his calm voice replied as he kicked the door shut behind them. He carried her over to the sofa and eased her into it. He sat down on the coffee table in front of her and pulled her bruised and battered hand towards him so he could get a better look at it. His fingers lightly traced over the wounds that were no longer bleeding. He knew there was glass still inside, because of what had cut into his hand when he caught the punch she threw towards him. But he didn't feel any now; maybe what was left had been shaken out. Still, the wounds needed cleaning and bandaging. "First aid kit?"

She just stared at her hand a moment as she nodded towards the kitchen area. "Above the sink…" She felt the stinging of tears in her eyes again and closed them as he stood and retrieved the box from the cabinet. The pain in her chest was excruciating, she couldn't remember ever having this feeling. She unzipped her jacket and slid her arms out of it as Trowa sat back down in front of her.

He pulled out several alcohol pads and cleaned the blood trail from her knuckles back across her hand, then up her forearm, where he stopped. His fingers traced over several linear scars that cut across her arm from the wrists up. "What's this…?" he asked, raising his eyes to hers, but they never met.

She stared down at her arm, resisting the urge to trace the scars herself. "I don't feel anything when I kill. I feel nothing for the people I've killed, that I've hurt. I make a mark for every life that I've taken, so I'll at least feel something…" She leaned back against the cushion, her battered hand flexing every so often in his grip as she felt a tingling in her fingers. "All I feel right now is my arm going numb…" Her good hand tugged at her T-shirt as the pain in her chest worsened, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

Trowa stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "Does your chest hurt?" He saw the pain in her eyes even before she nodded and he immediately dropped the roll of bandages and stood. "Lay down…," he said, still softly, but full of authority and concern as he adjusted pillows on the sofa. He walked over to one of the three desks as she did so and picked up one of the phones, dialing the correct department. "Med Center, is Sally still there? … Send her over to Storm Haven… I think Lightning is having a heart attack."

* * *

><p>Izreina just let Heero drag her along. She just stared down to Quatre's jacket in her still shaking hands, oblivious to everything else. It wasn't until they were almost in town that Izreina realized he wasn't taking her back to Haven. She looked up and around, having no earthly idea where the hell she was at.<p>

"I'm taking you to Duo's…," was all he said for a moment as they walked; his hand on her back, gently guiding her. He looked down to her as her pace slowed and he felt her shiver under his palm. "I'm not leaving you alone, Izreina," he said softly, giving her a nudge towards the driveway they were approaching. "I know things didn't go well between you and Duo earlier; he just needed time to cool down. You need him, right now, and he won't abandon you." He guided her up to the door of the old house and knocked.

"It's late, Heero…" She spoke softly, idly rubbing a sore spot in her chest. She looked up at the door as she heard locks being undone on the other side. The door opened to reveal a young lady, a few inches shorter than she was, with dark hair.

"Heero, what on earth…?" She started to say '_What on earth are you doing here at this hour?' _but stopped as her eyes settled on Izreina. She gave her a warm smile, but genuine concern in her eyes at Izreina's shaky appearance. "You gotta be Izreina… I'm Hilde… Come on in, sweetie. Duo's in the kitchen and the coffee's on. Ain't nobody sleeping tonight, so you're more than welcome to join us." She stepped aside, welcoming her sister-in-law in.

Izreina gave Hilde a small, quivering smile as she stepped through the doorway, clutching Quatre's jacket. Her eyes met her brother's as he stepped around the corner.

"Hey, Babe, who's at the… door…?" He blinked a moment, hardly believing the frail woman in front of him was the same sister he'd left that morning. "Iz…?" His eyes studied the sheer exhaustion in her face a moment before they fell to the bloodstained jacket in her trembling hands.

Heero reached around Izreina to pull the jacket out of her hands. "I'm just gonna give it back to Quatre…," he said softly to her as she released her grip around it. "Hilde, go ahead and take her inside. Duo…?" He motioned for Duo to join him outside for a moment.

"Um… What happened to Quatre?" he asked, nodding down to the jacket. He stepped outside, closing the door behind him as Hilde slid her arms around Izreina. He could hear Izreina completely break down crying into his wife's embrace.

"His sister shot him." He held up a hand, shaking his head as Duo prepared a '_What the fuck?_' "Long story short… Kalli and Izreina are emotionally falling apart. They have the ability to turn off their emotions in combat, but once battle is over, everything that had built up is released all at once. Their training was never completed so they never learned how to deal with the sudden rush of emotions. Their telepathic connection with Trinity was just about the only thing keeping them from breaking down. Without Trinity to guide them, there will be problems. The only reason Kalli didn't kill Quatre was that Izreina tried to pull him out of the way. Izreina has better control, but she still needs support."

Duo looked at the door, idly twisting the end of his long braid through his fingers. "Man, if that's the short story, I'm gonna hate to hear the long one." He sighed, looking down to his feet a moment. "I was so pissed off after this morning… And I know she didn't tell me everything going on… Then that… massacre this evenin'… I didn't think twice about what she must've been feeling… especially with what happened to Tempest..." He stopped, looking back to his buddy, his expression full of concern. "You okay? Wanna come in for…?" He silenced, dropping his braid, and threw open the door as he heard his wife scream his name. He ran into the house, Heero right behind him, and skidded to a halt in the doorway to the kitchen finding his sister unconscious in the middle of the floor, her head resting in Hilde's lap.

Hilde looked up to them, carefully brushing bangs out of Izreina's face. "She said she was hurting, that something was wrong, and then she just fainted."

Duo glanced over his shoulder at Heero, who was already on his cell phone with HQ's Med Center, as he stepped around his wife and sister, kneeling beside them. "Izzy?" He gave a small sigh of relief at finding a rapid, but steadying pulse in her wrist. He held her hand tightly in one of his, the other resting on his wife's shoulder as he looked back up to Heero, hearing his conversation come to a close.

Heero slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Kalli's had a heart attack… Sally said Izreina's empathy is why she had chest pains. That on top of her exhaustion is probably why she fainted. She just said to make her comfortable and watch her closely until she can send someone to bring her in. She wants to make sure but she's got her hands full, right now." He stepped away from the doorway as Duo walked through, having already lifted his sister off the tile floor. He laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a sympathetic squeeze as he passed. "When you get her settled, meet me in Une's office. You and I have a mission." He released Duo's shoulder and walked back towards the door.

Duo stopped at the entrance into the hallway, looking over his shoulder to Heero, careful not to bump his sister's head on a wall or anything as he watched his buddy step onto the porch. "A mission, are you nuts?"

Heero's eyes met his, causing Duo to shudder at the hatred in them. "We're going to find the bastard that turned our sisters into guinea pigs…"

Duo watched him close the door and looked down into Izreina's sunken face as he felt Hilde's arm around him. _What the hell did you neglect to tell me, Iz…?_

"Go on, Duo. I'll look after her."

* * *

><p>Trinity's eyes shot wide open and she sat straight up, completely knocking Zechs off the bed where he had been sitting, keeping his vigil. She was in full soldier mode, ignoring the blinding pain shooting through her as she ripped off the various cables and wires that had been monitoring her. She was working on her IV while intense eyes focused on the window to her room as medical personnel rushed by with a gurney carrying her counterpart. Her eyes met Sally's as she ran by just behind them. Sally didn't stop, despite her surprise that the Stormer was not only awake but completely alert (not to mention halfway out of bed); knowing Trinity would mentally read exactly what was going on.<p>

Zechs pushed himself up off the floor, his eyes barely catching the commotion in the hallway as he reached over the bed to grab Trinity's arm as she tried to rise to her feet. "Stop," he simply said, his eyes connecting with hers as she whipped her head around to face him. His gaze was focused, but soft, concerned, meeting with the glare of a soldier. She blinked once and the soldier was completely gone from her eyes, now reflecting a mix of pain, worry, and fear. She trembled under his grip as he gently guided her back into the bed, sitting again beside her.

"My girls need me…," she whispered as her head fell atop the pillow, unable to get her voice to cooperate. She closed her eyes briefly as he brushed her bangs away from them, his fingers lingering over her soft cheek. "I can't sense either one of them…" She felt the stinging of tears, and even she couldn't figure out if it was worry for her 'sisters' or she was just in that much damned pain. But the gentle brush of his thumb across her cheek was enough to give her some comfort. "Zechs…" She looked up to him through watery eyes.

"Shh… Just rest…," he said as he removed his hand long enough to pull the sheets back over her. "It's your turn to be taken care of, now. Let me take care of you, Trinity." He reached back up to her face and brushed the tears away.

She gave him a small, but skeptical smile, even accompanied by a hoarse chuckle. "Zechs… you can barely take care of yourself…" She sighed, heavily as everything started catching up to her. The pain… the fatigue… the sense of loss… She wrapped both her hands around his, as tightly as her aching muscles would allow her; feeling as if she'd lose herself if he wasn't near, wasn't touching her. "Just don't let go, Zechs…," she said softly, closing her eyes again, feeling sleep approaching. "Just hold me… and don't let me go…"

"Never again," he said, resting his free hand atop hers. "That's a mistake I'll never make again… I love you…"


	10. Chapter 9

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Nine

Duo's eyes never left the face of Quatre as he studied the expression of immense anger while Heero told him everything he knew about their sisters' implants. He now knew the reason Izreina had omitted certain information about her and her partners' abilities, and he certainly shared the response of his friend as Heero's explanation continued.

"We may even be able to find someone that can remove the damned things without harming the girls…" Heero looked back and forth between his comrades.

Duo met his eyes for just a moment. "Didn't you just tell me earlier that Iz and Kalli have been relying on that mental connection to Trinity to keep their sanity? Wouldn't removing the devices bring more harm than good at this stage?"

"The damage has already been done, Duo." Quatre leaned back in his chair with a flinch and a sigh, the sling really doing nothing to easy the discomfort of his injured shoulder. "It would be better for them to continue to release the emotions rather than bottle them up again. Kalli's heart attack was only minor, but it could have been much worse if she continued to let the emotions build. Sally said Kalli's been having issues with anger management as long as she's known them." He lightly rested a hand over his wounded shoulder. "I think this may have been exactly what she needed to find control." He looked up at Heero. "So where do we start?"

Heero shook his head. "You're in no condition for this mission, Quatre. Duo and I will handle it. I think its best you stay and take care of the girls. They need more emotional support than anything and of all of us you are most capable of offering that." He never moved from his position, leaning against Une's desk. "If we need backup, we can call on Wufei. I think Trowa could help you with the girls. I'm not exactly sure they wouldn't kill Wufei for his disrespect earlier." Though that remark would have been funny in different circumstances, none of them were laughing at the moment. The emotional unbalance of the Storm could very well become a problem if they didn't get help. "Also… Trinity's device was damaged in Maelstrom's detonation. Sally doesn't know what kind of effect it will have on her abilities until she wakes up."

"I guess I sorta understand why they didn't tell us the whole story…" Duo sighed, running a hand over his braid. _And why Izreina was afraid to talk to me at all…, _he added, silently to himself.

"Fate has thrown us our share of curveballs, hasn't she…?" Quatre sighed, leaning forward in his chair. "Trowa and I will take care of Izreina and Kalli. Trinity seems to have plenty of moral support. The general hasn't left her side since she was brought in…" He gave Heero a questioning look, which was replied with a stone cold glare. Quatre nodded his understanding in interpreting his friend's eyes. His gaze moved up to Duo.

"Thanks, Quat." He gave Quatre a very appreciative smile. "Just make sure you take care of yourself, too," he nodded towards Quatre's injured shoulder before glancing back to Heero. "So, where do we start?"

* * *

><p>"Hi Miss Noin," Marimeia smiled at her, looking up from her task of changing Aaron Yuy's diaper as the woman walked through the door. At seventeen years old, she had been deemed the official Preventers babysitter. As a gag, Une, who had adopted her after the war, even had a uniform made for her, complete with official badges, which she wore with pride. She was also listed in the Preventers personnel file. "Alyssa just finished with her snack. She's cleaning up now, if you're ready to take her home."<p>

Noin gave the girl a small smile and a shake of her head. "Not leaving yet. Still so much to do." She received a nod of understanding from Marimeia as she finished with Aaron's diaper and sat him down in the play yard. Noin knew that Une would have informed her on what was going on, because two of the girl's charges (well, one charge and one helper when he wasn't in school) had a mother that was now down in the med center.

"Michael's been asking about her," Marimeia said, pulling Noin off to the side. Her eyes settled for a moment on the boy, about nine years old, on the other side of the room, helping Noin's daughter wash her hands. The boy looked like his mother in the face, including the intensity of his dark blue eyes. But the fine, platinum blond hair that fell to just above his shoulders, was an unmistakable indication of who his father was. "I haven't known what to tell him. He knew something was wrong when he and Nika came home with me and Mom last night."

"I think he's old enough that I can take him down there," Noin said after a moment, having trouble coming to a decision. His father obviously didn't know about Michael, Trinity had never told anyone who his father was, not even the girls. And there were very few people that knew about her children, period. But there was no denying it, as the boy got older. Noin had had her suspicions from the beginning, and it tore her heart up. Michael's younger sister, being the same age as her daughter, though, she didn't have a clue. There was almost no resemblance to her older brother; save for her eyes, which Noin suspected was a dominant trait of her mother's line. Her short curly hair was also blond, but it was much darker, almost light brown in color. "Nika's far too young. I don't think she would understand."

Michael got Alyssa settled with a new project and his eyes met Noin's, a frown on his face. Young as he was, he had the face of a soldier when it was warranted. He was most definitely a Yuy. He walked over to her after she gave an invitational nod of her head. He briefly glanced to where his sister was, now running over to join Alyssa, before he spoke to Noin, making sure Nika wouldn't hear. "What happened?" he asked. "Where's Mom?"

"She's down in the med center, hon." Noin stared down at the boy, a chill suddenly running through her. The kid had a mastery of the Yuy death glare, and he used it when he wanted truthful answers. "So are Aunt Kal and Aunt Iz. I'll take you down and explain on the way if you want me to. But Nika's just too young. She'll have to stay here with Marimeia."

He nodded, not giving it a second thought. "Then let's go." He didn't wait for an acknowledgement from Noin and was at the door before his agreement even hit her ears. His arms folded as he stared at her. "Well?"

Noin looked at Marimeia who returned her glance with a sympathetic smile, and she followed the boy before he prompted a second time. She stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She looked down to Michael a moment before she started walking.

"Does this have anything to do with their devices?" Michael's arms remained folded and his voice remained cool and calm as he walked along side her. He apparently knew more than Noin would have a given the nine-year-old credit for. What was more surprising was that he understood it.

She nodded, sliding her hands into her jacket pockets. "It didn't click at the time I gave her the assignment, that the organization she was infiltrating were the ones responsible for that experiment. And by the time it did, they were already in danger. Turns out the organization had a program that could command those with devices, and they would have no will against it, they would have to follow the order. Your mom didn't include Izreina or Kalli in the mission because I think she knew. That function in their devices was damaged."

"If that part was damaged, that means that they were failed subjects…" He didn't wait for a nod from Noin, or further explanation. Iz and Kal would have been in danger from the very beginning. "But they still had the ability to use Mom… like she was a puppet…" He didn't look at her; he didn't have to for her to understand the strain in the boy's voice. He saw the nod she offered out of the corner of his eye.

"She was still able to complete her mission; he hadn't commanded her not to. She managed to rewrite the program as she stole it and sent it to us. Her gundam was sabotaged, though, and detonated when she made her escape. We weren't too sure she would survive when we got back, but she did, and surprisingly, she's awake. But there were several hours she was unconscious, and without the mental link to Kal and Iz, they were in danger of meltdowns. Kalli had a minor heart attack and Izreina just collapsed from the mental strain…" She stopped as she saw Heero rounding a corner a few feet ahead of them.

Heero met her gaze as he came to a stop in front of them, and his eyes told her what he was planning. Before she could respond, his eyes fell to the boy beside her, and they widened as Michael returned his gaze. He'd seen the boy in the day care room with Marimeia, but never had he looked at him this closely. Marimeia had several children in her care, whose parents served throughout headquarters. He hadn't paid too close attention to the kids that weren't his.

"Heero Yuy," said the boy, receiving a nod as he extended his hand to the man which he tentatively took. "Michael Yuy…" His hand closed around the man's, or rather Heero's closed around his, and he gave it a firm shake.

Heero glanced over to Noin. "Why wouldn't Trinity tell me she had a son?"

"Mom takes great care in revealing information. If she didn't tell you about me and Nika, there was good reason." Michael's voice was unnervingly calm for even Heero.

"Heero, outside of the Storm, only Une, Sally, Marimeia, and I knew she had children. And we were all sworn to secrecy." Sensing Heero's next question before he asked it, she gave Michael a gentle nudge. "You know the way, Michael. I think she'll be expecting you." She held a hand up to Heero, waiting until the boy was out of earshot. "No one knows who their father is, Heero, or even whether or not they have the same father. Trin has told no one, not even the girls."

"I have a feeling you suspect, though," he didn't look to her, watching the boy walk away. The edge to his voice prompted only a nod from her. He nodded in return before forcing his mind off the issue. He looked back to her. "Duo and I are taking off. We're going to track the path of those suits that escaped us earlier. I'm pretty sure I know where they were headed and I think we'll find the actual person responsible for the project." Without another word, he walked away.

* * *

><p>Izreina had awoken several moments ago, but her eyes didn't open. Her mind replayed events of the day before, giving her some idea of why she was so damn tired. She'd never felt this worn down before, even after an intense battle. But as the replay reached its conclusion, she realized she was emotionally exhausted. Her mind searched for the presences, which were always constant, comforting, that were now missing, finding neither. She sighed, remembering why, and she felt a soft hand closing around hers. She finally permitted her to open her eyes to gaze upon the owner of the hand holding hers. She offered Quatre a small smile in return for the one he offered her. There was no conversation between them as she relished in his warm gaze, strength slowly returning to her, his own strength that he lent to her. It took her several moments before realize that she was neither at Haven, nor her brother's, where she remembered collapsing. She looked down to her hand in his, noting the IV line.<p>

"Sally wasn't sure how long you would be out. Just standard fluids to keep you hydrated. She occasionally slipped something in to help you sleep comfortably." His voice was quiet, soothing to a point, but she could sense the concern in it, even a strain of exhaustion. Her eyes drifted back up to his face and her brows knitted in concern. Dark circles seemed even darker in contrast to aquamarine eyes that still shown despite his tiredness.

His smile grew in reassurance. "I'm alright. Tired. The last twenty-four hours have been… well… tiring. But you girls are worth losing sleep over." He let go of her hand and reached up to brush strands of hair away from her face. He gave her a soft 'shush' as she started to speak, anticipating the questions clearly seen in her eyes. "Trinity's been awake off and on throughout the day. General Peacecraft hasn't left her side. Sally's threatening to sedate him if he doesn't go get some rest." He paused, his remark earning him a soft smile from her.

"It's about damned time they both came to their senses," she whispered, having a little difficulty finding her voice. "Kalli?"

"Minor heart attack. We Winners have proven time after time to be a stubborn family. She'll live. And I've no doubt she'll be okay, especially with so many people supporting her."

"Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Trowa is with her. Don't tell him I told you, but ever since the Storm first appeared, he's had a fascination with Lightning." He gave her a smile as she laughed hoarsely.

"Well, don't tell Kal I told you, but she has a shrine to Mr. Barton and Heavyarms in her room at Haven. Though, I'm not exactly sure which one she idolizes more. The chick loves guns…"

He found himself chuckling to cover the discomfort. Either that or he was just too damned tired to care. "Well, she's in good hands with him. I trust Trowa with my life, why not my sister's? I felt I might better be of use here." Then his smile was gone from his face as he looked down to her. "Heero told me and Duo everything about your… training… about your mental abilities… They left about an hour ago…"

She frowned. "Going after Lowe…"

"Is that his name? Heero wouldn't give us much information on him. He seemed… This situation seems to have hit him harder than he's letting on…"

"Odin Lowe was responsible not only for our implants, but also for the training that Heero and Trinity went through to become the perfect soldiers… He's their father… but to him, they were nothing more than tools. Something he could use to make a profit. The only value he places on human life is a monetary one… He's a dangerous man, Quatre… The Storm is a living embodiment of what he is capable of creating…"

* * *

><p>Zechs' eyes never left the boy that had walked into the room without even a knock. One look from Trinity had shut him up from making any kind of comment. And he stood by the bed as the boy crawled up into his mother's open arms, nestling beside her. He wouldn't have known what to say even if she hadn't shushed him. In turn, the boy's intense eyes remained connected with his as he held on to his mother. His dark eyes were almost black in contrast with the boy's almost white hair. Then Zechs' eyes widened. Trinity has a son… <em>His<em> son…

Trinity's eyes closed a moment as she laid her head against her son's, and Zechs considered leaving the two of them alone but stopped as her eyes opened again and met his. Then she smiled a warm, almost glowing smile that made him weak at the knees, and he felt compelled to stay, sliding back into the spot on the bed that had been worn down where he had sat for the last twenty-four hours, give or take an hour. "Zechs… This is Michael…"

Zechs' eyes remained in focus with the boy's and he was silent for several moments. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She looked down to Michael, pulling his gaze away from Zechs. "Michael, would you go check on Aunt Iz and Aunt Kal for me?" He gave her an odd look for a moment, and Zechs immediately knew that Michael was aware of the mental connection between the members of the Storm. He was trying to figure out why he would need to go check on them if his mother could sense them, or should have sensed them. After a moment, he nodded and slid off the bed. Trinity watched him disappear through the doorway; his eyes glancing just once back to Zechs.

"What would you have done if you knew?" she asked as she looked back to him. It was an honest question. And Zechs had to admit, he didn't have an answer. But, his silence apparently wasn't the answer she was hoping for. She frowned, leaning back against her pillow. "Let me know when you figure it out, Zechs…" Trinity ran a hand through her hair as she sighed. "Why don't you go on home before Sally actually comes back with the needle she's been threatening? You look like shit…"


	11. Chapter 10

Heart of the Storm

Chapter Ten

This was way too easy… They had met with no resistance getting into the building, and not a soul was in sight. It was like the place was deserted. Heero didn't like it at all. He was expecting them, no doubt. But what the hell was he planning?

He gave a glance to Duo and a nod, silently confirming the hallway was clear and they moved quickly towards the door at its end. Heero kept watch while Duo worked at the electronic lock. The door slid open without trouble and Heero and Duo exchanged glances. Oh, yeah, this had definitely been too easy.

Heero stepped into the room ahead of Duo, both their weapons at the ready. But the room was empty, save for one man sitting behind the desk in a wheelchair. Heero trained his weapon on the man before his eyes widened at his frailty. What hair he had left on his head was white and brittle. His fragile hands shook as they rested on the desk top. Heero's eyes met his, but his gaze wasn't returned, the man's eyes were dull, glazed over. He was blind. This man he had spent his entire life hating and fearing, now was nothing but a battered old man that had apparently been sick for a long, long time. Heero quickly recovered his mask as he caught Duo's gaze out of his peripheral.

"Finally come to kill your old man, eh Junior?" His voice was raspy, weak, and the strain caused a small coughing fit, which was over as sudden as it began. "I expected you years ago…"

Heero shot his friend a glare as the braided pilot raised a brow, stopping the question before he even opened his mouth to speak it. "Sorry if I've been a little busy…" The tension in Heero's voice made it obvious to Duo that this was not the place or time.

"Yes, so I've heard." His cracked lips spread into a thin smile. "How old is my grandson, now? Coming up on a year, should be." He gave a very hoarse chuckle, ending in another coughing fit. "Your relationship with the Vice-Foreign Minister isn't exactly private knowledge, son," he spat in between coughs. He took a moment to gain his breath, though it was still labored. "Whether or not… you kill me, Junior…, I will die today… I just… had to see you… before the hell fires claim me…"

"Don't call me that," Heero said, bitterly. "Odin Lowe, Junior is dead…"

"You prefer your code name… Heero Yuy…" Odin Lowe gave a nod of his head. "It suits you… J was right on the mark when he gave it to you…" He paused a moment, coughing again. "I regret nothing that I've done to you and your sister, son… I taught you to survive… I gave Trinity the ability to save her counterparts from the insanity Romefeller created with their impatience..."

"I seriously doubt you had good intentions in mind when you performed brain surgery on our sisters…" Duo's eyes narrowed on the old man. "They were just another financial boost for you, weren't they?"

"I'd be lying if I said otherwise, Mr. Maxwell… Oh, yes, I know who you are… I won't deny that Mr. Barton offered a very large sum for the project… And the three of them were perfect for it… Because of their training, I knew they would survive. Many before them didn't… But he was a fool to believe he could actually control them, yes they would have obeyed commands given, but he would have had to have been very specific… He made several mistakes regarding the command program, and that's ultimately what killed him…" He fell into another coughing fit, taking several moments gasping before he caught his breath again. He waved a hand to the laptop computer beside him. "This… has everything… you… want to know… about the project…. I… assume… that's why… you're here…"

"Is there a way to safely remove the devices?" Heero asked, fighting to keep his voice steady. He didn't know what he was feeling at the moment, but he'll be damned if he was going to let his guard drop.

"I… would not… suggest… it…"

It was then clear to Heero, as Lowe's breath became more and more labored. He was dying. The gun he had trained on his so-called father began to falter. He ignored the concerned stare of his braided comrade. For the moment, he was in the room alone with Lowe.

"I'm… not going to… apologize… for anything… I've done… to you and Trinity…" He paused, and Heero closed his eyes, stinging with emotion as his father gasped for breath. "Because… I'm proud… of what… you both have… become…" He coughed once as his head fell back against his chair. "I'm sure… your mother … is too…"

Heero's eyes shot wide open, staring at him. "She's alive? Where?"

An affirmative grunt was all he received for a moment while the old man struggled to breathe. He closed his eyes. He didn't speak again.

Heero couldn't tear his eyes away from him, his vision blurred by freely flowing tears. The gun fell from his loosened grip as he trembled. It was a moment before he remembered Duo was there, his hand on Heero's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

* * *

><p>Trinity's eyes slowly opened, blinking several times to try to clear away the tears. She hadn't known really what she would feel when this day had come, when the man who turned their lives inside out was finally dead. She certainly didn't think she was going to mourn him. But she didn't expect what he had said to her brother.<p>

_Karma's a bitch…_ She couldn't help the small smile that spread at hearing Kalli's mental voice. It was weak, but it was there. _I can't imagine that was the way he wanted to die…_

_I think he would have much preferred if Heero had shot him…_ That was Izreina, and Trinity's smile grew. _I know he wanted to… I would have…_

_That's why he didn't…_, Trinity replied as she closed her eyes giving a sigh. _A final act of defiance… To prove that we've evolved past what he created us to be…_

_So that's it?_ Kalli asked, her mental voice steadily becoming stronger. _We're free?_

_Not exactly, Kal… We're still trapped within each other because of these damned devices…_

_It's better this way… We've come to rely on each other too much… I doubt any of us could really live without the others… One for all and all for one, fellow Musketeers…_ Trinity could picture the smiles that accompanied their mental snickers. _Once a Stormer, always a Stormer, girls… Heart…_

_Body…_ said Izreina

_And Mind…_ said Kalli.

Trinity's eyes opened again as she felt a sag in the bed beside her, meeting Zechs' gaze. She frowned, breathing his scent in deeply. "You've been drinking…"

"I'll make a deal with you… I'll quit drinking if you'll quit smoking…" He offered her a wry grin as he closed his hand around hers.

"Touché…" She nodded before he continued.

He stared at her for a long moment, brushing remaining tears out of her eyes. "I've been doing some thinking…"

"That's dangerous," she mused without pause, giving a small smile at the mock glare he gave her.

"For you, maybe…" He smiled again. "I walked with Michael back to Marimeia. We… talked a bit… There is no way that kid is nine years old…. He's way too intelligent to be that young…"

"Look at who his parents are, Zechs… Even before my training, I was reciting Shakespeare at nine…"

He moved on, ignoring the comment. "…and I met Nika… you neglected to mention her…"

"Sorry, but I've had a lot on my mind…"

"Obviously, I'm not her father; she's the same age as Alyssa. And when Alyssa was conceived…" he stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing, not particularly at her, but he continued to stare at her.

"Sarris Barton was her father… It's… not a relationship I'm proud of… It led to me and the girls being used again as tools for war…" She sighed, closing her eyes again as she felt him brush her long bangs away from her face. "I didn't know I was pregnant until Sally checked me over after you and Noin rescued us. I was apparently pregnant when the device was implanted. Sally said it was a miracle she survived with no complications…"

"Did he ever know about her?"

"No… Only a few knew I had children, and no one knew who their fathers were."

"Trinity…," he sighed a moment, waiting for her eyes to reopen and he met her gaze. "We BOTH have… a lot to learn before we can talk about… us. I'm talking about trust, Trinity. I know you love me, but I need you to be able to trust me. Tell me that you have a brother; of course, now knowing that you've made my only reason for hating him invalid…" He smiled at her as she replied with a chuckle. "Tell me you have children; it _is_ just the two of them, right?" She gave a nod with another chuckle. "I will work on the dad thing… I can't make promises, but Michael has offered his help…"

"He's a good big brother. Very protective." She laid back against her pillow, in thought for a moment. "I do need your help with something, at the moment, Zechs, to find someone… It's apparent that the Storm is going to be on a medical leave of absence for some time, and I won't have access to the resources I need… Heero will be looking, but he'll need help…"

He smiled and nodded. "Name?"

"Shin… Tani Shin… or Shin Lowe…"

* * *

><p>Kalli opened her eyes and leaned back on her pillow. The Storm was whole again. She sighed with a small smile on her face, her eyes closing again. Trinity was right; they'd be lost without each other. In the nearly two days she was without Trinity's presence, she had shot her brother and suffered a heart attack… What would have happened if Izreina wasn't with Quatre...? What would have happened if Trowa hadn't been with her in Haven when the pains started? She shook her head as she sighed again. What would have happened doesn't matter. What did happen is that Izreina and Kalli now had someone they could lean on outside of the Storm.<p>

She gave another small smile as she thought about the tall man with the incredibly soft voice, who was very likely her brother's best friend. She hadn't even been aware of his presence in her room, until the Heavyarms pilot spoke, his soft voice startling her, but only for a moment as she met his eyes.

"You have a beautiful smile… You should wear it more often…" He smiled a response to hers as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the side of her bed. "Feeling better?"

"A little…" She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh as she nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me, Trowa."

"I'm not done yet." He hesitated a moment before slim fingers wrapped around her bandaged hand. "Despite what you said, there _is_ salvation for people like us, Kalli… Soldiers that were bred to fight from as far back as we can remember… You will never be able to recover who Kalli Nicole Winner was… But I see the potential for her to become a remarkable person…" He smiled as she gripped his hand tightly. "The road to salvation is a long one and one that shouldn't be taken alone… Let me walk it with you…"


	12. Epilogue

Heart of the Storm

Epilogue

Trinity removed her reading glasses, setting her folder aside as she heard the giggles of two little girls outside of her home office. She had been apprehensive about moving into Peacecraft Manor; she and Zechs were taking things slow; after all, they were practically strangers. And although Storm Haven was a secure environment for her children, it was no home. Here they had a freedom that Haven didn't offer. And Zechs was more than willing to fulfill his role as a father, not just to Michael, but to Nika, also.

Plus, she could be close to her brother, get to know him again. His and Relena's wedding, indeed, was much larger than he had anticipated. Relena had apparently been planning the event for some time, even before they were together. But Trinity thought even she underestimated the number of reporters and cameras that were in attendance. The marriage of the Vice-Foreign Minister was a large enough story, but a marriage to one of the famed gundam pilots made it the story of the century. They both had thought about scrapping the whole wedding thing and go elope, but five minutes before the wedding had NOT been the appropriate time to be having second thoughts.

She chuckled as she spun her chair around, glancing to a photo of the wedding party that was framed on the wall behind her desk. Taken only minutes after Heero and Relena had been pronounced man and wife, they were both positively glowing. Duo, as best man, stood next to Heero, but his usual flashy grin was forced. He had utterly hated the 'monkey suit', as he had called it, that he wore and had kept swearing that Izreina had tied his noose of a tie too tightly. _This coming from a guy who used to wear a priest's collar,_ Izreina had said, giving a tug on his braid to get his attention.

Hilde, as matron of honor, stood next to Relena, also with a forced smile. The woman had been miserable the entire day, but for a different reason. She was nine months pregnant! But she was damned if she was going to let that interfere with her best friend's big day. Despite her doctor's orders, recommendations was what she called them, she still did her part. What she didn't tell anyone was that contractions had started that morning and her water broke half a minute after the camera's flash. Needless to say, she and Duo had missed the reception, which had become one hell of a party after the reporters, cameras, and the more distinguished guests had left. And by the time the festivities had died down, Duo Jr. had been born, and they started right back up.

There were no other groomsmen or bridesmaids, but the other three pilots were in the photograph as well with their dates. Trowa and Kalli stood on a step in the background. Trinity swore she would get that girl for neglecting to inform her that the two of them had eloped a week prior. Their only attendants had been Quatre and Izreina, who were kneeling in the foreground, arm in arm, the engagement ring on Izreina's left hand clearly visible, reflecting the flash of the camera. Trinity really couldn't say she was surprised at the swiftness of their relationships. They had been very attached to their respective beaus ever since their meetings nearly a year ago.

To Duo's left, Wufei stood, a familiar scowl on his face, with Sally's arm around his waist. Their marriage had been a well kept secret, going on five years now. Every single one of their friends, even Une, was planning some sort of revenge for that fact. But any threats of carrying out said revenge had been put on hold for the time being. Just last week, Sally announced she was pregnant with twins. Trinity smiled, revenge would come. She couldn't wait until it really settled in Wufei's mind that he was going to be a father times two.

Seated on the floor in front of Quatre and Izreina, were the kids. Michael in the middle, with the little ring bearer, Aaron in his lap. And the two flower girls in matching dresses, Alyssa and Nika were on either side. The girls had liked the idea, very much, of being sisters, and their continuous laughter throughout the mansion was constantly putting a smile on Trinity's face. They both already had Zechs wrapped around their little fingers. Lord, help him when they become teenagers. At least Michael, like Trinity, had a very protective nature. No one messes with his sisters, or his little cousin.

To Hilde's right, stood Zechs, Trinity on one arm, and Noin on the other. Their divorce had only recently become public knowledge, particularly because of one tabloid referring to Trinity as 'Milliardo's Mistress'. The act to set said tabloid straight was met with the full fury of the Storm; it was most unpleasant, and was an example to future journalists to stay out of their business.

Trinity looked back at the door as a strong knock was heard over the girls' giggling. She smiled as Zechs didn't even wait for an acknowledgement before he opened the door, staggering in, a six year old attached to each leg.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Her voice was full of sheer amusement as she tried her best to hold her snicker in. What she wouldn't give for a camera at that moment… She folded her arms, leaning back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, a smug grin on her lips.

"How do you get them off?" he asked, as seriously as he could muster, but her smile just broke down any attempt.

She stood and walked around her desk, her arms still folded as she turned her smile to the two girls. "Go on and make sure your room is clean, girls. Bedtime in ten."

The girls immediately complied, scurrying to their feet and out the door. Zechs watched them run up the stairs and shook his head as he looked back to Trinity. "How is it that you and Noin can get by with telling them something just once? I feel like a broken record talking to them sometimes."

"Every kid knows, Zechs, mommies mean business." She grinned at him a moment before her eyes fell to the package she just noticed in his hands.

"This came this morning for you. I hadn't had the opportunity to bring it to you until now." He handed the parcel to her.

She looked the box over as she carried it back to her desk. "There's no return address… Postmarked from Japan?" She raised a brow, looking towards him as she set it down. He wouldn't have given her the package if he didn't know where it came from. His paranoid nature wouldn't have allowed it, until he searched it first, but this had been unopened.

"Open it," he said as he closed her office door.

She slid back into her chair after pulling a pocket knife out of her back pocket. She flicked it open and slid it along the seams, laying it to the side when she was done. As she parted the top flaps, she paused. Her eyes focused on the object within before widening as she reached in. She breathed in a soft gasp as she pulled an old, tattered, stuffed rabbit. The light purple color of the fur had all but faded completely away. Her finger traced along a stitch where one of its ears once was, and she felt her eyes begin to water. A small smile came to her lips, remembering the fight with her baby brother that took it off.

She looked past the rabbit, and picked up the computer disk that had been taped to the bottom of the box. She slid it into her computer and sat back in her chair as the recorded message played, hugging the rabbit tightly.

A woman appeared on the screen, looking very much like her, except for strands of gray in the otherwise chocolate colored curls.

"_My aijou, beloved daughter,"_ the woman smiled a very warm smile. _"To say that I was surprised to hear from General Peacecraft would be a gross understatement."_ The smile faded into a very sad one for a moment. _"Words can't really say how sorry I am that I couldn't protect you and your brother from the man that should have loved you. I only hope that one day, you'll forgive me. Not a day goes by that I don't wish that I had done something to save you from him. I had tried to find you after the war, but silly me; I was looking for the wrong people. It hadn't occurred to me that you wouldn't be using your father's name any more. Imagine my shock when the general told me who I should have been looking for."_

Her warm smile returned. _"I'm certain Heero Yuy's namesake would be proud of what he's accomplished. I know I certainly am. I'm proud of you both. I hope you don't mind the early Christmas present. I treasured the few things I managed to salvage from our home before Odin burned it, hoping that I might return them to you and your brother. There are copies of some of the photographs included on this disk. I'm sorry I couldn't deliver them in person, but, if you wouldn't object, I'd like to make a trip to see the two of you and my grandchildren after the New Year."_

Trinity closed her eyes as she felt Zechs' hands resting on her shoulders. She sighed as he lightly kissed the top of her head and the message concluded.

"_I love you, Trinity."_

* * *

><p>Izreina sat at the dining table, fidgeting with the corner of her napkin, intentionally avoiding the gaze of her soon-to-be husband. She had, in fact, been avoiding him all evening, since she had returned from HQ. Even though the Storm was not as active as it had been, Lightning and Thunder were now administrators at the academy.<p>

Quatre only hoped he wasn't the reason for her distance, but if something had happened at work, she would definitely have let him know about it. He watched her just pick at her food for what seemed like hours before he finally spoke. "What did I do?"

"Hmm?" she asked, really absent-mindedly before blinking a few times to come out of whatever trance she had been in. "I'm sorry, Love… What?"

"What did I do? You've hardly said a word to me all evening." His brows knitted in concern.

She gave him a small smile, still not looking at him. "I'm sorry, Quatre, I've just been… thinking." She stared down at her plate, pushing steamed vegetables around with her fork.

"About what?"

She didn't answer right away, hesitating for a long moment before speaking. "Oh… I was just thinking that we might need to push the date of the wedding either up or back…" Her smile grew into a very loving one as she finally managed to meet his eyes.

His brow rose a moment. "What do you mean…?" He dropped his fork as their eyes met, hoping he actually read the interpretation right. "You're not… are you?"

Her smile spread into a downright grin as she nodded, and no sooner did she blink, that he was kneeling beside her, one hand wrapping around one of hers, the other resting on her belly. She laughed as she ran her free hand through his hair. "Darling, you're not going to be able to feel anything yet. It will be a long while yet before you can."

He ignored the comment as he leaned in to kiss her belly. "When is he due?" he asked, looking up to her with a grin.

She laughed again. "As I said, we need to rearrange the date for the wedding… and how are you so sure it's going to be a he?"

"Because there are too many women in the Winner family," he laughed as he stood, brushing her lips with a light kiss. "Now you'd better eat. I don't want my son going hungry."

She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you going to do if it's a girl?"

He shrugged, giving her a wry grin over his shoulder as he walked back to his seat. "Then I don't want my daughter going hungry."

* * *

><p>Kalli and her new sister-in-law, Catherine, had an immediate connection to each other, and had gotten along very well since their meeting. Too well, if you asked Trowa. They both appreciated throwing sharp objects at him. And his new wife definitely needed more practice at <em>not <em>hitting him.

"Kal?" he yelped as he attempted to dodge the knife that now pinned his pants to the board behind him. He forced his voice to remain calm as he scolded her. "Please leave the knives to Cathy… I thought you wanted to have kids someday…"

She grinned as Catherine happily gave her another throwing knife. "Aww, Baby, but this is fun!" Her cheerfulness about the situation was beginning to get on his nerves. "And I do want kids, but practice makes perfect, Honey-bunch."

He glowered at the grin on her face as he unpinned himself from the board, seeking shelter behind his sister who wasn't cooperating. "Keep that up, I won't be able to give you kids…"

Catherine giggled as she attempted to keep herself out of the middle of this lovers' quarrel. "Oh, Trowa, you never gave me this much trouble when I was learning."

"Yes, but you were trained to purposely miss," he caught Catherine by the shoulders and made sure she stayed in between him and the lady with the knives. "She's a trained assassin… very big difference…"

Kalli's eyes flashed into a glare at her husband as she threw the knife into the ground. "Trowa Barton, I am _not_ an assassin. I may know how to kill a man in the most gruesome way possible, but I am _no_ assassin… Keep up the insults, pansy, and I just might change that!" Without another word, she stormed away from them into the trailer, slamming the door behind her.

Catherine couldn't hold in her giggle. "A word of advice, dear brother," she started as he hesitantly started towards the trailer. "Don't piss off a woman that's PMSing… especially a Stormer…" She fell to the ground in a fit of giggles as he apparently had second thoughts about consoling his wife and walked the other direction.

**The End**

****Author's Note: So what did you guys think? Seriously. Comments welcome.


End file.
